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Great example of how language is a tool for thinking, but it's also a tool for not thinking. If you want to ignore or obfuscate something, you can seal it off w

Great example of how language is a tool for thinking, but it's also a tool for not thinking. If you want to ignore or obfuscate something, you can seal it off with euphemisms and misrepresentations, kind of like putting an interface in front of an implementation. And as you pointed out, you can use this tactic to deceive not only others but also yourself.

xwolfi 6y ago
Let's say language is a tool to convey information regardless of truth or precision. You can disguise negative information giving it the appearance of a usual positive one (the fake discount). It's more a property of information than of language, or rather a property of our information processor, so lazy it doesn't check every single piece 3 times but instead rely on habit and context
- red-montaigne 6y ago
  I'm thinking more of a writer sitting down and struggling to choose the correct word to identify a thought. I wouldn't say they're "conveying information." At that point they don't have information. I would say rather that they're attempting to refine the raw material of the flow of their thought-consciousness by using language. You can use words to assist that refinement. (I'm doing it now, for example.) But you can also use words to divert your thought stream away from potentially uncomfortable ideas, or someone else can do that to you.
dleslie 6y ago
Casual game design uses many of the same nouns as casino operators.
- techer 6y ago
  “Compelling”
hakeberio 6y ago
Definitely. It reminds me of Orwell's Newspeak in 1984- although the novel itself shows that having a "clean" vocabulary doesn't completely prevent "unclean" thought deemed by the authorities, having a censored set of language can "nudge" people to certain propaganda.
m463 6y ago
"we're supported by advertising" (pervasive surveillance and tracking)
- efreak 6y ago
  The surveillance and tracking complement advertising, but aren't necessarily part of it. I'd call it brainwashing instead.

xwolfi 6y ago

Let's say language is a tool to convey information regardless of truth or precision. You can disguise negative information giving it the appearance of a usual positive one (the fake discount). It's more a property of information than of language, or rather a property of our information processor, so lazy it doesn't check every single piece 3 times but instead rely on habit and context

red-montaigne 6y ago
I'm thinking more of a writer sitting down and struggling to choose the correct word to identify a thought. I wouldn't say they're "conveying information." At that point they don't have information. I would say rather that they're attempting to refine the raw material of the flow of their thought-consciousness by using language. You can use words to assist that refinement. (I'm doing it now, for example.) But you can also use words to divert your thought stream away from potentially uncomfortable ideas, or someone else can do that to you.

dleslie 6y ago

Casual game design uses many of the same nouns as casino operators.

techer 6y ago
“Compelling”

hakeberio 6y ago

Definitely. It reminds me of Orwell's Newspeak in 1984- although the novel itself shows that having a "clean" vocabulary doesn't completely prevent "unclean" thought deemed by the authorities, having a censored set of language can "nudge" people to certain propaganda.

m463 6y ago

"we're supported by advertising" (pervasive surveillance and tracking)

efreak 6y ago
The surveillance and tracking complement advertising, but aren't necessarily part of it. I'd call it brainwashing instead.