Symbols, even in their myriad constructions and usages, have a generally understood form, a generally agreed upon form, and miscommunications over definitions, denotations, syntax and connotations have straightforward solutions if the two parties who desire to communicate are attentive. But the variance of meaning among symbols and constructions to different people's interiors is a problem of pragmatic (mis)communication we often cannot solve. If someone believes you have given offense by some symbol or construction, there is often little you can do to convince them different, if you thought convincing them of anything was a good idea.
Ultimately reasoned thought and communication might get down to the truth of a matter, but reason and the process of differentiation isn't always valid for everyone's interior experience. And while we might make a person hear, we can’t make anyone listen, and we certainly can't make anyone use the same symbols we use in the same way we use them, and it's a compounded difficulty if differentiated concepts are falling on compact ears (or vice versa) no matter what symbols are used. So as frustrated as we may get (as I may get) and no matter what concepts we give (or how accurate our symbols), we cannot control what other people take to their interior from the exterior interchange of symbols.
January 4, 2010
(Mis)Communicating Symbols
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