Surely deep down everyone agrees that you just judge a person by the way they speak. ...Or write - well-known spelling mistakes include "your" when the writer wants to use the abbreviation of "you are", which is, of course, "you're"; and "I should of..." (!)
There is no denying that those given to making such spelling mistakes as those described above are a bit behind as far as intelligence goes. Mind you, "intelligence" is not always the same thing in context. There is the kind of intelligence that is measured by IQ tests - that which pertains to language and mathematical problems and the like. But "intelligence" also exists at a more subtle level that is more connected to society and social norms - one may well link it to notions of naivety or gullibility (does that ring any bells?). Several people have called Tom Cruise stupid - despite his obvious talent, he has as astonishing record of dedication to none other than the Church of Scientology.
But what this blog is really about is the (perceived) meanings of certain individual words, such as "intelligence". I shall now list the definition of the word "deception" (Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary, unabridged, Second Edition):
Deception (noun)
1. The act or practice of deceiving or misleading
2. The fact or condition of being deceived or misled
3. Something deceiving, as an illusion, or meant ot deceive, as a fraud, imposture etc.
Syn. deceit, fraud, imposition, artifice, cheat, ruse, stratagem, trick. - Deception usually refers to the act, and deceit, to the habit of the mind; hence a person is spoken of as skilled in deception and addicted to deceit. An imposition is an act of deception practiced upon someone to his annoyance or injury; a fraud implies the use of stratagem with a view to some unlawful gain or advantage.
It's just that I sometimes think that if I ever saw the word "deception" spelled incorrectly ("disseption"?), then that person would be too thick to realise what deception really is (and would be too thick to know how to do it themselves). Of course, deception can be purposely and purely cynical; certainly if an "imposition" (as defined above) is anything to go by.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
EXTENSION COMMENT - THE WORD "FRIEND" IN REAL-WORLD CONTEXTS
ReplyDeleteHave you ever noticed how surprisingly easy it is to make "friends" on Facebook (note the inverted commas), compared to face-to-face?
This just doesn't work for me - that you can send a friend request to anyone, and even if they respond in the affirmative, both of you usually accept (even though it's not written down) that chances are you will never get in contact with each other again (you both have to be on Facebook at once, for a start!). Now, I'm pleased to say that this has not always been the case with me; but when everyone has busy lives, you've got no reason to forge ties with a stranger other than your willingness to do so (but far be it from me to discourage that!). No... I won't deny that there have been and there continues to be cases where people have Facebook to thank for their being friends with certain other people; but until you have really had a full red-blooded conversation on one or two on things that you are able to discuss confidently, I think it would be more appropriate to refer to your new Facebook friend as an "acquaintance". What do you think?
...If you really want an example of how deception is cynical (an "ugly word" if there ever was one), know / be reminded that people are always practicing it upon others in relation to some affair that the victim person is at a loss to understand, the idea being to take advantage of or exploit that victim (they might be too young to do so, being the best example).
ReplyDelete