Hi John, Yeah, it's a problem. That ole symbol manipulation can be so subjective.
Does everybody think in pictures first, then grope around for words to fit? Or is it just me? No, wait. Pirsig wrote a couple of books about that pre-intellectual cutting edge of reality thing. That's good. Thought I was crazy there for a minute. :) Mary > > Meaning is uncertain; therefore I must constantly fine-tune my > language and > work at reinterpreting the words I hear. I try to understand what the > other > person says to me. All language is more or less a riddle to be figured > out; > it is like interpreting a text that has many possible meanings. In my > effort at understanding and interpretation, I establish definitions, > and > finally a meaning. > > > The thick haze of discourse produces meaning. > > > All of intellectual life (and I use the word "all" advisedly) even that > of > specialist in the most exact sciences, is based on these instabilities, > failures to understand, and errors in interpretation, which we must > find a > way to go beyond and overcome. > > > Mistaking a person's language keeps me from "taking" the person--from > taking > him prisoner. > > > We are in the presence of an infinitely and unexpectedly rich tool, so > that > the tiniest phrase unleashes an entire polyphonic gamut of meaning, The > ambiguity of language, and even its ambivalence and its contradiction, > between the moment it is spoken and the moment it is received produce > extremely intense activities. Without such activities, we would be > ants or > bees, and our drama and tragedy would quickly be dried up and empty. > > > Between the moment of speech and the moment of reception are born > symbol, > metaphor and analogy. > > > Through language I lay hold of two completely different objects. I > bring > them together, establishing between them a relationship of similarity > or > even identity. In this manner I come to know this distant, unknown > object, > through its resemblance. > > > It becomes intelligible to me, because through language I have brought > it > near this other one that I know well. Tis an astonishing process, and > logically a foolish one. It is obviously an indefensible operation, > yet > there it is, utterly successful, utterly enlightening. 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/md/archives.html
