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[senseless852]

Question of the Day: If you pick up the dictionary and learn a new word, does it change the way you think, or does it just change the way your existing thoughts are expressed?

Comments

[vulber]

it seems like the two are inter-related, is it possible to change the way one expresses one's thoughts iwthout a change in thought?

[senseless852]

Well, when I say, "I am happy" instead of, "I am glad" I am expressing the same thought in two different ways. I could concievably be expressing my happiness by saying "I am happy" and then changing it to "I am glad" without changing my initial thought.

[vulber]

ah, i gotcha. in that case, i would say the latter.

[senseless852]

Imagine somebody didn't know the word 'scared'. If they were frightened, they would have their heart race and their palms sweat. If asked to describe how they feel, they probably wouldn't be able to.. infact, they probably can't even understand how they feel. Now imagine someone taught them the word 'scared', now they can not only express that they are scared, but they understand how they feel. It seems to me that this is a case that proves that learning new words can change the way you think