Soup
Well-Known Member
Re: Do you think in pictures or words?
Words fascinate me as something to collect in the same manner that many Aspies collect action figures or comic books & learn everything they can about them. I found words fascinating in that same way as a kid & began adding to my collection by reading dictionaries. That grew into an interest in etymology. Words have texture, scent & colour for me. Some words seem to slip about in a slimy way in my mouth whereas others clatter about like a coin being shaken in a tin can. I used to agonize over which word was the best one to use in a given context & this was made worse by a string of very strict French teachers who insisted that there is no such thing as a true synonym because each word has its own nuance. We had to use 'le mot juste'! As a precision-driven Aspie, this teaching made me almost paranoid that I was using the wrong words like a master carpenter's apprentice agonizes over perhaps using the wrong tool. The finished cabinet may look good to most people, but true masters would be able to see the slip-shod finishing.
Words have a presence in their own right before we know what they mean or can connect them to what they symbolize BUT word knowledge has its limits. Think of seeing an unfamiliar metal part used in some obscure aspect of industrial factory machinery design. You may see a picture of it in a magazine with a word under it BUT you'd STILL have no real context or meaning for what the item truly is! Being able to say, "Why, that thing is a _______." is meaningless even if you can draw one perfectly- until you know what the item's purpose is & how to use it .
Think now of a person who knows what an item is meaning how to use it correctly & what purpose it serves. He may refer to it as a 'watchamacallit' or in French slang 'une patente' . He has never seen a written word for it. <----THIS person, who lacks vocabulary for the item in fact has superior knowledge of the item despite his inability to communicate about it using a correct term.
I recall a parent bringing his 5yr old in for registration. He was convinced his son was brilliant because he knew so many things. He'd been taught to repeat many grown-up sounding phrases & speeches like an old-fashioned tape recorder on play-back. Among them was, strangely for a Quebecois kid, the USA Pledge of Allegiance. So, boy genius began reciting, to his dad's obvious pride. Not wanting to embarrass the child BUT to provide Dad with a badly needed reality check, I said "That was very good reciting, Sylvain!" (NOT his name) "Could you please help me understand more about what you just recited? What does 'I pledge allegiance to the flag' mean?" He looked nervously at his red-faced father & then back at me. He explained that when the flag gets dirty, you use a 'legiance' of Pledge to clean it. A legiance was, apparently, a type of CAN that Pledge comes in. I thanked him for his erudite explanation but, as the kids met & greeted each other, I spoke to Dad about all that empty meaningless recitation without any comprehension or practical knowledge.
Words are just tools whereas imagery + comprehension forms the greater measure of understanding. Even conceptual words that have no physical image like 'allegiance' must be tangibly understood. I learned not to dismiss those who were not handy with words as being unintelligent or be dazzled by articulate people who may not be so smart after all.
Words fascinate me as something to collect in the same manner that many Aspies collect action figures or comic books & learn everything they can about them. I found words fascinating in that same way as a kid & began adding to my collection by reading dictionaries. That grew into an interest in etymology. Words have texture, scent & colour for me. Some words seem to slip about in a slimy way in my mouth whereas others clatter about like a coin being shaken in a tin can. I used to agonize over which word was the best one to use in a given context & this was made worse by a string of very strict French teachers who insisted that there is no such thing as a true synonym because each word has its own nuance. We had to use 'le mot juste'! As a precision-driven Aspie, this teaching made me almost paranoid that I was using the wrong words like a master carpenter's apprentice agonizes over perhaps using the wrong tool. The finished cabinet may look good to most people, but true masters would be able to see the slip-shod finishing.
Words have a presence in their own right before we know what they mean or can connect them to what they symbolize BUT word knowledge has its limits. Think of seeing an unfamiliar metal part used in some obscure aspect of industrial factory machinery design. You may see a picture of it in a magazine with a word under it BUT you'd STILL have no real context or meaning for what the item truly is! Being able to say, "Why, that thing is a _______." is meaningless even if you can draw one perfectly- until you know what the item's purpose is & how to use it .
Think now of a person who knows what an item is meaning how to use it correctly & what purpose it serves. He may refer to it as a 'watchamacallit' or in French slang 'une patente' . He has never seen a written word for it. <----THIS person, who lacks vocabulary for the item in fact has superior knowledge of the item despite his inability to communicate about it using a correct term.
I recall a parent bringing his 5yr old in for registration. He was convinced his son was brilliant because he knew so many things. He'd been taught to repeat many grown-up sounding phrases & speeches like an old-fashioned tape recorder on play-back. Among them was, strangely for a Quebecois kid, the USA Pledge of Allegiance. So, boy genius began reciting, to his dad's obvious pride. Not wanting to embarrass the child BUT to provide Dad with a badly needed reality check, I said "That was very good reciting, Sylvain!" (NOT his name) "Could you please help me understand more about what you just recited? What does 'I pledge allegiance to the flag' mean?" He looked nervously at his red-faced father & then back at me. He explained that when the flag gets dirty, you use a 'legiance' of Pledge to clean it. A legiance was, apparently, a type of CAN that Pledge comes in. I thanked him for his erudite explanation but, as the kids met & greeted each other, I spoke to Dad about all that empty meaningless recitation without any comprehension or practical knowledge.
Words are just tools whereas imagery + comprehension forms the greater measure of understanding. Even conceptual words that have no physical image like 'allegiance' must be tangibly understood. I learned not to dismiss those who were not handy with words as being unintelligent or be dazzled by articulate people who may not be so smart after all.
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