I’m Loving It

August 15th, 2009 • Comments »

I love to watch the people stand up for what they believe in. It is such a refreshing change from the apathy that seemed to overtake them for so long. It’s amusing to watch the reaction to this new American uprising. As the saying goes, at first they ignore you, then they insult you, then they fight you, then you win. Or something like that, I really don’t where that phrase originates, but it certainly seems applicable in the current state of affairs. For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, the people have been raging for years, yet only now is the rage coming to the surface. Thanks to the instant, omnipresent coverage made possible by modern technology, the outrage of the common person is now seen through many media channels, throughout the entire world.

I love to hear about regular, ordinary people getting passionate and being active in town-hall meetings. Maybe they always have done so, but the recent media coverage is really stirring things up, encouraging and validating such behavior by showing it on television, discussing it on the radio, printing it in newspapers, magazines, blogs. People have been sick and tired of getting stepped on and taken for granted for ages. There have been many revolts, revolutions, uprisings, riots, protests, and civil wars. It’s nothing new, certainly, but it sure has taken it’s sweet time manifesting in this current generation. For awhile there, I was beginning to wonder if people would ever stand up and say, “enough is enough.” I was thinking that maybe the people of this country had completely given up and were ready to roll over and let the government have their way with them. Needless to say, in this case, I am glad to be wrong. Continue »

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 »