Thinking while bored
I got free time coming out of nowhere at work, so I decided to launch into a personal rant.
There is a trait in people that I see too often which tends to bug me. The trait I refer to is ambiguity.
First we'll start by looking at what that word means to me personally. To me it is, generally, a statement lacking either context or direction, that is to say, it is vague, incomplete or generalised. To me it means that someone has decided to stand and say something, but they either fear repercussions should their words be given a specific target, or they merely wish to muse on a personal point using a public medium.
Now punching “Define:Ambiguity” into google yields the following as a definition;
am·bi·gu·i·ty/ˌambiˈgyo͞o-itē/
Noun:
Uncertainty or inexactness of meaning in language.
A lack of decisiveness or commitment resulting from a failure to make a choice between alternatives.
And I think that is also a good definition of the word. So lets now stop and see where this vagueness, this ambiguity occurs, at least in my own observations. Social media is the biggest exposure point to this problem that I find, a result of an ever present flow of status updates tweets messages and communications. But outside the virtual worlds I find that this trait tends to occur even with face to face chats with peers and acquaintances.
This annoys me on a personal level because unless I'm properly aware of a person in question when they are being talked about, I haven't got enough information to either support or refute the statement. While my interjections or opinions may rarely be needed on such a subject, I still find it to be rather petty when a person mentions that someone else is getting on their nerves or 'oh yeah I like such and such, but I won't say who', and then they whinge that either the person in question is still the topic at hand or that the person in question hasn't changed their ways after apparently being warned to cut it out, at least indirectly.
So for me this is frustrating as at it's core the internet is an enabler for the exchange of information, be it instruction, opinion or commentary, yet without having a clear understanding of the informations position I might as well say soap dispenser boomerang and an unusually shaped bagel. Oh sorry, was that too ambiguous? Lets add context and see what happens then: Vague statements are akin to soap dispensers, they can be very slippery yet easily washed, one might be wary to ensure their words will not return with force as a boomerang would but I suppose they would prefer to shield the meaning so that their statement is not as unappealing as an unusually shaped bagel.
Granted that was a bit of a long way to basically say that people seem to prefer chopping details and keeping things short when sending their message but really without context the words are both confusing and meaningless. Yes, your emotional anecdote about the lack of quality in a relationship means nothing to me when all you say is 'really? Again?' misshapen bagels aside it's not just people projecting their words that wants me to attack them with violence, it's also questions.
I take my sibling for example, “can you fix my computer?” is a simple enough question, it certainly draws attention to the fact that the computer is the device needing repair, and I understand that I'm being asked if I would be willing to attempt to repair the problem. But it's missing some vital context for my liking, can you guess what my reply was? Close, I replied with “That depends, what is the problem that you have?” because if it is on fire, then no, I can't fix that, if it's shutting off randomly I could attempt to test for and diagnose the problem but I can't make any promises.
The reply that I got back made my blood boil a little. “No I just need it plugged back in, it was moved to a different room” …. that shit ain't rocket science my dear, 22 year old sister. It's also not a problem with the computer strictly speaking. I could be grasping at the straws but really, the question could have been better phrased as “My computer is in a new room, can you help me plug it all back in again?” to which my answer would of be a, admittedly grudgingly, yes.
The lesson I'm trying to teach here is that if you are going to talk around me, be specific, give details and make sure the full context is understood. All too often someone tries to save time by keeping it short and their intention will get misconstrued to the point that no one knows what anyone is talking about.
The lesson I'm learning is maybe I shouldn't take everything literally. I find this hard personally because guessing things was never my strong point, so often when I watch a new movie I don't actually have a full grasp of what is going on because things refer back and forth until I end up with a mess of information only for the final reveal to stand and say 'ok they lived happily ever after and here is why'
Many people have said or noticed, and I'm sure many will say or notice that I at least appear smarter than the average person, but really I don't agree. I think it's just that I prefer to have complete and full information when attempting anything. By deconstruction of the world around me I gain an appreciation for how things work or what kind of action will cause what kind of reaction. This is learning at it's most pure, push the ball, and the ball rolls. Ok yes I stop and think 'but why does it roll?' with the simple answer being that because it's round.
Some people say common sense isn't common any more, I think that observation is half complete, I think that yes it is becoming less common but I also think that it's also being ignored because of the modern world catering to the survival of the human race as a species and yet doing nothing to ensure that the survival is instinctive. Would you look down the barrel of a gun you have just removed the magazine from? I wouldn't. There might be another bullet in the chamber! So why do people still keep blowing their own heads off?
Some might say because they were not given proper gun safety instruction but again, I think this should fall to the person in question. A weapon, as an example, is a device used to propel a projectile at a lethal velocity. I do not need a bright yellow sticker on the side reminding me that to aim this at myself is a bad idea. I digress
This relates to ambiguity because if people would just stop and get all the information before attempting anything, then I'm sure we'll have a lot less people with gaping holes in their eye sockets. So if people would say 'Billy Jones, why do you insist on calling my phone at 2 in the morning each week' rather than 'wish he'd stop it' then maybe I'd feel a little better knowing that Billy Jones is a tool and or there is some kind of misunderstanding happening.
I hate misunderstandings.
There is a trait in people that I see too often which tends to bug me. The trait I refer to is ambiguity.
First we'll start by looking at what that word means to me personally. To me it is, generally, a statement lacking either context or direction, that is to say, it is vague, incomplete or generalised. To me it means that someone has decided to stand and say something, but they either fear repercussions should their words be given a specific target, or they merely wish to muse on a personal point using a public medium.
Now punching “Define:Ambiguity” into google yields the following as a definition;
am·bi·gu·i·ty/ˌambiˈgyo͞o-itē/
Noun:
Uncertainty or inexactness of meaning in language.
A lack of decisiveness or commitment resulting from a failure to make a choice between alternatives.
And I think that is also a good definition of the word. So lets now stop and see where this vagueness, this ambiguity occurs, at least in my own observations. Social media is the biggest exposure point to this problem that I find, a result of an ever present flow of status updates tweets messages and communications. But outside the virtual worlds I find that this trait tends to occur even with face to face chats with peers and acquaintances.
This annoys me on a personal level because unless I'm properly aware of a person in question when they are being talked about, I haven't got enough information to either support or refute the statement. While my interjections or opinions may rarely be needed on such a subject, I still find it to be rather petty when a person mentions that someone else is getting on their nerves or 'oh yeah I like such and such, but I won't say who', and then they whinge that either the person in question is still the topic at hand or that the person in question hasn't changed their ways after apparently being warned to cut it out, at least indirectly.
So for me this is frustrating as at it's core the internet is an enabler for the exchange of information, be it instruction, opinion or commentary, yet without having a clear understanding of the informations position I might as well say soap dispenser boomerang and an unusually shaped bagel. Oh sorry, was that too ambiguous? Lets add context and see what happens then: Vague statements are akin to soap dispensers, they can be very slippery yet easily washed, one might be wary to ensure their words will not return with force as a boomerang would but I suppose they would prefer to shield the meaning so that their statement is not as unappealing as an unusually shaped bagel.
Granted that was a bit of a long way to basically say that people seem to prefer chopping details and keeping things short when sending their message but really without context the words are both confusing and meaningless. Yes, your emotional anecdote about the lack of quality in a relationship means nothing to me when all you say is 'really? Again?' misshapen bagels aside it's not just people projecting their words that wants me to attack them with violence, it's also questions.
I take my sibling for example, “can you fix my computer?” is a simple enough question, it certainly draws attention to the fact that the computer is the device needing repair, and I understand that I'm being asked if I would be willing to attempt to repair the problem. But it's missing some vital context for my liking, can you guess what my reply was? Close, I replied with “That depends, what is the problem that you have?” because if it is on fire, then no, I can't fix that, if it's shutting off randomly I could attempt to test for and diagnose the problem but I can't make any promises.
The reply that I got back made my blood boil a little. “No I just need it plugged back in, it was moved to a different room” …. that shit ain't rocket science my dear, 22 year old sister. It's also not a problem with the computer strictly speaking. I could be grasping at the straws but really, the question could have been better phrased as “My computer is in a new room, can you help me plug it all back in again?” to which my answer would of be a, admittedly grudgingly, yes.
The lesson I'm trying to teach here is that if you are going to talk around me, be specific, give details and make sure the full context is understood. All too often someone tries to save time by keeping it short and their intention will get misconstrued to the point that no one knows what anyone is talking about.
The lesson I'm learning is maybe I shouldn't take everything literally. I find this hard personally because guessing things was never my strong point, so often when I watch a new movie I don't actually have a full grasp of what is going on because things refer back and forth until I end up with a mess of information only for the final reveal to stand and say 'ok they lived happily ever after and here is why'
Many people have said or noticed, and I'm sure many will say or notice that I at least appear smarter than the average person, but really I don't agree. I think it's just that I prefer to have complete and full information when attempting anything. By deconstruction of the world around me I gain an appreciation for how things work or what kind of action will cause what kind of reaction. This is learning at it's most pure, push the ball, and the ball rolls. Ok yes I stop and think 'but why does it roll?' with the simple answer being that because it's round.
Some people say common sense isn't common any more, I think that observation is half complete, I think that yes it is becoming less common but I also think that it's also being ignored because of the modern world catering to the survival of the human race as a species and yet doing nothing to ensure that the survival is instinctive. Would you look down the barrel of a gun you have just removed the magazine from? I wouldn't. There might be another bullet in the chamber! So why do people still keep blowing their own heads off?
Some might say because they were not given proper gun safety instruction but again, I think this should fall to the person in question. A weapon, as an example, is a device used to propel a projectile at a lethal velocity. I do not need a bright yellow sticker on the side reminding me that to aim this at myself is a bad idea. I digress
This relates to ambiguity because if people would just stop and get all the information before attempting anything, then I'm sure we'll have a lot less people with gaping holes in their eye sockets. So if people would say 'Billy Jones, why do you insist on calling my phone at 2 in the morning each week' rather than 'wish he'd stop it' then maybe I'd feel a little better knowing that Billy Jones is a tool and or there is some kind of misunderstanding happening.
I hate misunderstandings.