Not really. My point is, it’s very easy to dismiss something you have no knowledge or experience of. And I try to avoid doing that because it just contributes to the noise (I’m sure I don’t always succeed). But I don’t think it’s a good thing if reading comprehension and general language skills decrease in general, do you? Do you think people think more clearly, are able to argue their case better or identify disinformation more accurately if they don’t know as many words or how to use them?
My point is, it’s very easy to dismiss something you have no knowledge or experience of.
I didn’t say I have no knowledge or experience, I said I have no expertise in it. I’ve read some of Thoreau, Of Mice And Men, Lord of Flies, etc other “classics”. I’m not an expert in movies but I can say what I don’t like, and trends I don’t like.
But I don’t think it’s a good thing if reading comprehension and general language skills decrease in general, do you?
I would prefer if English evolved to be as simple as possible, as has been the trend. (English used to have grammatical gender you know.) I would also appreciate more spelling reform(like Webster pushed for), and it is working. You see more people saying “u”, “luv”, and “kno” everyday.
Do you think people think more clearly, are able to argue their case better or identify disinformation more accurately if they don’t know as many words or how to use them?
We can test this, because some languages have more complex grammar rules and more words than others. But you should note, language is not a prerequisite for complex thought. And, different languages when spoke tend to convey information at roughly the same rate. Which indicates that the ability to conceptualize things(including complex things) is relatively independent from the language you “think in”. At a pretty basic level, if you speak a language that tends to use a base-10 system, than doing math in base-10 is more familiar, but that may just be because base-10 numbers are themselves a component of language.
Languages evolve based on whats needed, if someone is an adult and doesn’t know a word, it is probably not particularly valuable to them- and has nothing to do with their ability for complex thought. Just like languages with fewer words(or many words made up of simpler components, like Chinese) don’t limit someones ability for complex thought, it just means they’d express it a different way. For example, “hamburger” vs “beef patty sandwich”- not knowing the word hamburger says nothing about your ability to understand and think about the concept.
I see. And why should we care about your uninformed opinion?
You don’t have to. But I do wonder if you do value uniformed opinions you agree with it.
Not really. My point is, it’s very easy to dismiss something you have no knowledge or experience of. And I try to avoid doing that because it just contributes to the noise (I’m sure I don’t always succeed). But I don’t think it’s a good thing if reading comprehension and general language skills decrease in general, do you? Do you think people think more clearly, are able to argue their case better or identify disinformation more accurately if they don’t know as many words or how to use them?
I didn’t say I have no knowledge or experience, I said I have no expertise in it. I’ve read some of Thoreau, Of Mice And Men, Lord of Flies, etc other “classics”. I’m not an expert in movies but I can say what I don’t like, and trends I don’t like.
I would prefer if English evolved to be as simple as possible, as has been the trend. (English used to have grammatical gender you know.) I would also appreciate more spelling reform(like Webster pushed for), and it is working. You see more people saying “u”, “luv”, and “kno” everyday.
We can test this, because some languages have more complex grammar rules and more words than others. But you should note, language is not a prerequisite for complex thought. And, different languages when spoke tend to convey information at roughly the same rate. Which indicates that the ability to conceptualize things(including complex things) is relatively independent from the language you “think in”. At a pretty basic level, if you speak a language that tends to use a base-10 system, than doing math in base-10 is more familiar, but that may just be because base-10 numbers are themselves a component of language.
Languages evolve based on whats needed, if someone is an adult and doesn’t know a word, it is probably not particularly valuable to them- and has nothing to do with their ability for complex thought. Just like languages with fewer words(or many words made up of simpler components, like Chinese) don’t limit someones ability for complex thought, it just means they’d express it a different way. For example, “hamburger” vs “beef patty sandwich”- not knowing the word hamburger says nothing about your ability to understand and think about the concept.
Your choice to care or not, I generally value the input of others- but it’s your life