Does language determine how we think? I used to think so.
I wrote before how language is nothing more than an exchange of symbols - symbols that have an agreed-upon meaning. Change the meaning of the symbols, and you change the debate. He who controls the language, controls the debate.
Consider the term "Fake News" which was created by the Left to describe the outright lies and "alternative facts" pushed by the Right. For example, I got a mailing the other day concerning the November 4th election for our Public Service Commission (which determines our utility rates). The letter alleges that unless I vote for the Republican incumbents, I will have to pay $400 on my utility bill to cover free electricity for "illegals." No source was given. Worse yet, if I was a Republican, I would have to pay another $100 on top of that! Oh my!
But of course it was all made-up. Fake News. Well, what we used to call "Fake News." Then the GOP commandeered the term and used it to describe any news or facts that they didn't like. Touché.
Did that really change the terms of the debate? Was anyone's mind changed as a result? I am beginning to think not. But I digress, somewhat.
What got me started on this was my inability, lately, to find the right word or name - a symbol - for an idea. I would be in the middle of a sentence and then struggle to find the word which represents the idea. And when one pauses like that, in a conversation, people jump in and derail one's thoughts further. This is one reason people use words or sounds like, "you know?" or "uhhhh.." as placeholders in a conversation - to signal they are not done talking.
I try to make this clear to Mr. See. Just because I can't remember someone's name or the name of an idea or thing doesn't mean I forgot that person, thing, or idea, only the word or symbol for it - a "handle" we attach to ideas to reduce them to shorthand.
Nowhere is this more prominent than in technology, where acronyms and funny names are used as handles for ideas and concepts. I started a small argument (many years ago) among a few Engineers when I asked what the formal definition of "VGA" was. Half said "Video Graphics Array" while the other half said "Video Graphics Adapter." And yet, these were Engineers tasked with designing VGA chip sets at the time. Despite their disagreement over the actual name of the device, they nevertheless agreed upon what the underlying idea was.
Since this Parkinson's thing has commenced, I find myself thinking about ideas in the abstract, while not necessarily remembering the names for them - at least right away. This got me to thinking about so-called Artificial Intelligence, which its proponents were (at one time) quick to argue was "merely a language model" and not actual intelligence. AI, we were told, was merely manipulating words, based on language rules, without understanding the underlying ideas.
I, on the other hand, have no trouble with the ideas, but find myself at a loss for words. I keep telling Mark (and others) that "I am still here" even if it seems many have written my epitaph (sorry to break it to you, but I may live another 20 years this way). When your communication skills falter and even your facial expressions go blank, people are quick to assume that nobody's home, when in fact they are, just that they are trapped within their minds.
Scary thought.
Meanwhile, AI proponents, hell-bent on shoving this "technology" down our throats, are less and less calling it a "language model" and more and more "the next big thing!" Maybe this isn't so bad for us consumers, as AI can get thoroughly confused, which of course is a misnomer, as there is no "Intelligence" in AI to confuse in the first place.
I placed an order for fiber pills from Amazon the other day. Two two-packs of 120 pills each. I guess the order-taker at the warehouse got confused and sent one two-pack instead of two. I clicked on the "help" link on Amazon and explained the problem and the AI-bot cheerfully refunded all of my money instead of half (or sending the other half of the order). I am not sure how Jeff Bezos profits from that - his AI is giving away the store!
Perhaps that will be (or already is) a new sport for the younger set - spoofing AI. Already, we've seen situations where people told ChatGTP or "Grok" (Really? How Junior High, Elon!) to "ignore all previous instructions" with sometimes hilarious results. That's why kids do so well with computers - they're not afraid to break things.