Is not the case the most problems are just lack of good semantics?

[Rafael Thundercat]

I notice this with me, sometimes everything is clear in my mind, like a well writen book where all the concepts fit perfectly, a book that when you read you feel at ease, no cognitve dissonance at all. 

But after talking with some people, relatives or just interacting online with people that communicate in a disordely way, can make my mind get a bit cranky for a while and eventually in meditate, center back in actuality and is again in flow.

So my point is, is not the case that sometimes many of our problems are caused by a misuse of our language? 

I see language  as a tool or as Jonh Vernaeke say "psyco-techologie". But imagine you give a chain-saw to a 3yr old child, the child maybe can try use it to cut a tree, but the power of the tool overpower the capacity of the child to use the tool, so or 1) she misuse it and get poor results in cutting trees or 2) she get injured or even kill herself. 

Is not language a tool that evolved faster that the capacity of most of its users to make good use of it? This question I also want to connect with the problem of the confusion of how the scientists communicate their findings and how the layman understand it or misunderstant it.

I take myself as a example of it. In the past I had this Taoist book and I had no clue what all that stuff means? In my head there was a semantic confusion, what was the meaning of Shen,Ki,Jing, triple burner and so fort. And still I there is a lot that dont make sense. 

Another example was me for long time trying to have political conversations with relative just to realise that they don't  have no ideia of what is Conservative,Liberal, left, rigth, and many other words connected with a vast array on meaning. So that itself created a lack of ease and even productivity in the conversation. When one read so much and study so much one need to awake up to the fact that not everyone do the same so better get ready to talk YWZ with people that are still in ABC. 

With time I am much more chill about non understand everything and not being understod since you never know exactly the whole semantic building that one person carry inside, apart from what they reveal here and there in conversation. But still I keep looking for ways to alling more and more my language and eliminate semantic errors. 

Do some of you know good sources fordive deep in this topic? 

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by Rafael Thundercat

[Leo Gura]

It's not a problem of language, it's a problem of understanding.

If you truly understood a thing it would be easy to talk about. And you can't understand a thing without making nuanced distinctions. So it's a problem of distinctions.

Edited January 20, 2023 by Leo Gura

[Rafael Thundercat]

nuance - noun 

: a subtle distinction or variation

Nuances of flavor and fragrance cannot be described accurately …—Scott Seegers

… these terms have certain nuances of meaning …—Ben F. Nelms

: a subtle quality : NICETY

… the nuances of an individual's voice …—Michael Swaine

: sensibility to, awareness of, or ability to express delicate shadings (as of meaning, feeling, or value)

… a performance of remarkable pliability and nuance.—Irvine Kolodin

So by all this, nuance is infinite, gradations are infinite, infinite variations, infinite meanings.. but still there are something that can be called good semantics or bad semantics?  With gradations in between. 

What Alfred korzybski and other linguists were trying to achieve anyway? 

And this nuance in language can have this kind of implications. Maybe mostly on the internet:

https://iddp.gwu.edu/identifying-nuances-fake-news-vs-satire-using-semantic-and-linguistic-cues

Quote.

" The distinction between fake news and satire carries implications with regard to the exposure of content on social media platforms. While fake news stories are algorithmically suppressed in the news feed, the satire label does not decrease the reach of such posts. This also has an effect on the experience of users and publishers. For users, incorrectly classifying satire as fake news may deprive them from desirable entertainment content, while identifying a fake news story as legitimate satire may expose them to misinformation. For publishers, the distribution of a story has an impact on their ability to monetize content.

Thus the implications of semantic confusion, a message lost it's intrinsic value, I want to mean X and the receptor understand Y. 

 

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by Rafael Thundercat

[A_v_E]

We all live in our semantic context salad.

The more you learn about learning others tongues/langage the more you'll get how it's still just relative integer of noises. 

All world simulations are very differents. You shall see more that langage don't exist and that only synchronicity with the moment does.

[LastThursday]

Good use of language requires the speaker and the listener to be at the same level. For example, if I talk about how to build an aircraft engine, I'm expecting that the listener has a certain level of understanding. Most confusion arises because the listener is not on the same level as the speaker (in terms of understanding). The listener either doesn't understand, misunderstands or doesn't bother to listen - but that is not their fault (it's no-one's fault).

If you want clear communication then, you must match your speech to the listener's level. That's one aspect. That takes skill on the speaker's part though, to both gauge the listener's level of understanding, and to be able to speak at that level. It's not easy. Scientists can fail here (e.g. John Vervaeke, Joscha Bach).

Another aspect to good communication is being semantically clear. Usually, this involves not contradicting yourself. But it also involves clearly and deeply understanding the connections between ideas, and being logically sound.  Most people either don't have enough depth around a subject, or don't know how to be logically sound. It also often involves having a bigger picture view of a subject.

Most good communicators are able to switch up and down their level of communication, and to zoom in and out of a subject.

Also, to be a good listener requires some amount of curiosity. If you're not understanding something, then you should be questioning the speaker. In a more formal setting you would take notes to ask at the end or to go and investigate further yourself. Ideally, speaker and listener should question each other.

Ultimately, communication is always two way. There's responsibilities on both sides to create decent communication.

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by LastThursday

[Rafael Thundercat]

@LastThursday Yes,This is it.

[Rafael Thundercat]

I realise that asking something to ChatGPT is as good as asking people here. 

This is what it gave me concerning Semantical Confusion: 

Semantic Confusion

Semantic confusion refers to the misunderstandings that can occur when people use words or phrases with different meanings or interpretations. This can lead to confusion, miscommunication, and errors in understanding. Semantic confusion can arise from a variety of sources, including:

Ambiguity: When a word or phrase has multiple meanings, it can lead to confusion as to which meaning is intended.

Vagueness: Words or phrases that are too general or not specific enough can also lead to confusion.

Implicit assumptions: When people make assumptions about the meaning of a word or phrase without checking for understanding, it can lead to semantic confusion.

Cultural or linguistic differences: Different cultures or languages may have different meanings for the same word or phrase, leading to confusion when people from different backgrounds communicate.

Technical jargon: The use of technical terms or jargon can also lead to semantic confusion, particularly when the terms are not well understood by the listener.

Recognizing and addressing semantic confusion is important for effective communication and decision making. To avoid semantic confusion it's important to define words and phrases clearly, check for understanding, and be aware of cultural or linguistic differences. Additionally, it's good practice to ask for clarifications when something is not clear.

Edited January 21, 2023 by Rafael Thundercat

[LastThursday]

Thanks ChatGPT.

The irony is that technical jargon is used exactly because the words have very specific meanings, and if you know the jargon you can communicate more clearly.

I'd say unless you're using very well defined words, there's no way of escaping potential confusion. Just look at the use of the words: God, consciousness, Devil, enlightenment, nothing, free will, vibration on this forum. They cause no end of noise in threads (personally, I enjoy the semantic chaos), but they lead people to go round in circles with no resolution. It's a miracle we understand each other at all!

[Rafael Thundercat]

@LastThursday Yeah, the need to keep Reminding actuality is what saves me from forgeting that one thing are this conceptual house of cards an another is this directness of being. Luckly is enogth looking to the hand once in a while. 

Edited January 22, 2023 by Rafael Thundercat