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Subject: Language and this thread ( 56 of 58 )
Posted by Jace

Escaping from my monotonous work, I have read this entire thread. I am so impressed and excited having read so much intelligent and thoughtful dialog on a web forum. Many concepts I try to discuss with others (who claim to have never thought about it or just will not) were mentioned here. Though I feel I am violating a private group (I just found this site today despite my appreciation for Mr. Adams' work)... I would like to make a few direct comments:

I have often separated thinking into types: thinking in words and thinking in concept. We all know about words and for me to touch more on the topic would be unneccessary (the word I spell the worst). Thinking in concept is an instant occurrance (mostly) and is slowed by the construction process that sentences have. If I am cold, I am suddenly aware of it. Then I move to words "It's cold in here."

This I wish to bridge to the issue of language allowing one to think complex thoughts: as the reference to 1984 states, without words to convey a thought, is it impossible to have it? Maybe. However, I think the distinction can work like this: Concept: you feel unhappy and the stimulus is your government. Without a language that supports the ability to say "Our government is bad" (because in the language, Big Brother means "Good") you cannot express your "concept" to another person without extensive trial and error and many failures.

I'm loosing my coherence here, I think. It's time for me to go home now.

Referring to a comment posted about common people being required to understand each other... this is why I felt so drawn to read and post here. You are all very intelligent and demonstrate it with carefully crafted sentences and thoughts. I find that the Internet influences me towards impatience and the need to post emmediatly before thinking my thoughts to their conclusion. Seeing you work through this and post intellectually (instead of knee-jerk-reacting) has inspired me to pay more attention to my own use of language and communication.

Have a nice day, all of you. You've made me feel less like an island (even if we're strangers and separated by zillions of miles and star systems).

Jace
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