From: hampday@earthlink.net
Date: Tue Sep 13 2005 - 20:46:35 BST
Hi Paul (Horse, Scott mentioned) --
> With respect to jargon I always enjoy the challenge
> and opportunity of expanding my vocabulary whilst
> I recognise that clear communication of ideas is also
> important. So I am interested in knowing if there is a
> general limit of common philosophical
> vocabulary I should be aware of - Mudville city limits -
> and, if so, what should/could be done about it?
Your acknowledgement that this may be a problem is appreciated.
(Incidentally, my reference to 'Casey at the bat' from which you've
extracted Mudville was prompted more by amusement than criticism. I simply
found it incredible that you and Scott could make any sense out of that
vernacular.)
I think it comes down to a question of whether these posts are intended to
be understood by all participants or a private dialogue between two people
with views on some mutually understood but esoteric theory. (Perhaps this
is a policy matter for Horse to decide.) I can accept either practice;
however, if a post is "all Greek" to me, I'm not going to jump into it, even
if it relates to my favorite topic. (That goes for MoQ discussions as
well.)I suspect others feel the same way.
If the message is intended for a general (MoQ) audience, and a reply is
expected, I believe the author has an obligation to define or explain any
uncommon terms or acronyms that would impede the average reader. That, I
think, is only common courtesy.
Generally we all tend to get overly involved in the sophistry of words when
it is the Idea we really want to get across. I've resolved to express my
theories in the simplest terms possible for just that reason. Analogies and
examples are always helpful toward this end.
So I'm in full agreement with what you've proposed:
> We could pledge to define the terms that we think may be unfamiliar,
> which puts the onus on the writer, or we could encourage people who
> are interested enough to request definitions when they need them,
> which puts more onus on the reader.
In the interest of clarity, I accept your pledge.
Thanks for the suggestion, Paul.
Regards,
Ham
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