Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Pots and kettles


One of the most common flaws humans exhibit is criticizing someone for doing something we are also doing.

This is easy to see in others; harder to see in ourselves. I'm sure I do it, even though I don't often notice.

One example I run across all the time is on Scott Adams' live stream. Anytime he doesn't like someone else's point, which he can say is based on trying to win with a definition, he calls out their "word-thinking". Then he usually immediately does the exact same thing. But it's OK then, because he's making a point he likes. It's glaring to me when this happens.

I've seen him do this with the words "war", "woman", and others, where he criticizes the word as used by others, saying it doesn't mean anything; it's just a definition. And then he'll define some related word to make his own point. Recently he was harping on the word "war" and then, in trying to brush aside any comments using that word, used another word that his argument hinged on. (Sorry I don't remember the specifics at the moment.)

And I'm sure he doesn't realize what he's done and would block anyone who pointed it out.

Knowing I'm human and flawed is one reason I don't block people for pointing out my flaws and errors.

It does make me wonder though, I think in words. Sometimes supplemented with mental images, but always with words. Yes, I have an internal dialog that never shuts down; it's how I think. 

Do others not do the same? Is there any other kind of human thought that doesn't rely heavily on words and what they mean?

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