Just Nod if You Can Hear Me
June 7th, 2009 • Comments »
I have always heard it said that it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. When the grocery clerk sarcastically tells you to “have a nice day,” you probably understand it to mean just the opposite, and that the person couldn’t care less about you or your day. Conversely, when your fellow employee jokingly tells you to “go to hell,” you probably take the comment in stride and assume that it was intended to be a friendly and perhaps humorous exchange based on mutual camaraderie.
But think about it for a moment. Your responses to these two comments should be reversed. After all, “have a nice day” is a kind, or at least benign sort of statement, whereas “go to hell” is quite mean-spirited and malevolent. Yet your perception of these two exemplary phrases is determined largely by the way in which they were delivered. Your mind, aware of the context and characters involved in each situation, quickly analyzes the speaker’s tone and body language as the words are spoken. The grocery clerk’s sarcasm leads you to the conclusion that he really doesn’t give a flying flip, but when your co-worker is joking and smiling at you, just about anything will be perceived in a positive light. Continue »
Interpretation is Relative
May 3rd, 2009 • Comments »
The meaning that you extract from your environment is largely determined by your life experience. You apply your experience, beliefs, and ideas to the interpretation and understanding of sensory information. Sensory information has no meaning in and of itself, but rather depends on intelligent beings for interpretation, classification, discussion and so forth. Thus, a computer may be a confusing waste of time to one person, but to another it may be a vehicle of improved productivity. Interpretation is relative.
Many great examples of semantically loaded material may be seen in various song lyrics and band names. Musicians are often quite creative when it comes to their band names, album titles, song names, song lyrics and so forth. People who hear these different names and lyrics will interpret them differently, depending on their personal experience, education, and familiarity with the music or band in question. In fact, there are entire websites devoted to the deciphering and understanding of popular song lyrics. Continue »
Give Up, Don’t Give up
March 8th, 2009 • Comments »
News flash, people: Apathy is on the rise. As life continues to deliver the harsh blows, people are giving up on their ideals, hopes and dreams. The “I don’t care” mentality seems to become increasingly prevalent as people get older. Here in the small town in which I live, I constantly encounter people who work hard, pay their bills, go to church, and raise their kids, but without much else going on upstairs, or anywhere else for that matter. Not just the older folks, either. People of all ages seem to be losing their ability to think about and subsequently discuss anything beyond the realm of small talk, gossip, or who did what on their favorite reality television show.
Not that I am completely innocent in this regard. With a family of four, two full-time jobs, and a new house to take care of, I rarely have enough energy at the end of the day to do more than dive onto the couch and watch some mindless television show. But even so, I hate this behavior. I despise the way the world manages to suck up all of your time, money, and energy. Dealing with other overworked, underpaid people on an everyday basis is enough to make you want to scream. Think about it: when was the last time you were able to engage in a meaningful discussion about life, death, philosophy, or spirituality? It is sad to see the mass migration of clones jump into that lifeless, mainstream mentality of apathy and mindlessness. Continue »