> [Michael] > The definitions of words are relatively constant as compared to the rate of > change of ideas, either in society or in personal dialog. > > [Arlo] > OK. We agree here. I only add that the "constancy" is not an edict from an > authority, but a shared consensus among those in the dialog. Certainly, we > have > to agree to a sizeable foundation to make higher communication possible. If we > belabored every word, every perceived nuance, we'd never get past the first > sentence (maybe even the first word).
MP: Yes. But consensus *is* authority. (witness: law) In that sense linguistic constancy *cannot* occur without authority. The real debate here I think is not *whether* authority is acceptable, but rather what constitutes *acceptable* authority. MP ---- "Don't believe everything you think." Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
