Ideas on language

One would not expect a science book to contain a wealth of interesting ideas relating to words, language and communication in general, yet the essays in This Idea Is Brilliant often touch on these subjects.

Words can be content synonyms but emotional antonyms.

This thought, expressed by mathematician Eric R. Weinstein, is hardly original. You have probably noticed it yourself, as have I. Words can have very similar dictionary definitions, yet affect those who use or hear them in very different ways. My wife, for example, reacts almost violently when hearing the word crippled, yet accepts the word disabled without a word. They are, as Weinstein observes, content synonyms but emotional antonyms.

His own example is the word whistle-blower. Compare it with words like snitch, fink and tattletale. They may mean the same thing, yet one seems positive, while they others negative. He quotes Bertrand Russell's famous example: I am firm, you are obstinate, he is pigheaded. The three words mean the same thing yet sound very different to us.

Thought follows language.

1950s car ad

In an essay called "Spatial Agency Bias," Simone Schnall observes that studies show automobiles shown facing right in advertising appear faster and more desirable. Similarly a soccer goal made from left to right appears more elegant than one moving in the opposite direction. In paintings and photographs, the more dominant person usually faces to the viewer's right. Why? Schnall says it is because we read from left to right. Among people whose languages read from right to left, such as Arab and Hebrew speakers, the spatial agency bias goes in that direction, as well.

When scientific concepts become metaphors, nuances of meaning often get lost.

This idea comes from Victoria Wyatt, a professor of history in art. Metaphors are important in science, as in other fields, for making difficult concepts easier to understand. Wyatt's objection relates more to scientific terms working their way into everyday language, becoming metaphors for situations that have nothing to do with science. Her specific complaint is the use, or misuse, of the word evolve, as when people speak of their friends or spouses evolving. This, she suggest, confuses what the word means in the scientific sense.

"When these misunderstandings infiltrate popular language and thought, realistic approaches to global problem-solving suffer," she writes. This may be true, but I don't know what scientists, or anyone else, can do about it.

I will continue with this next time.