Communication | Speech | Understanding

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME I
‘m always impressed with the human tendency to try to change reality by renaming things. You see it in academic papers where they often pour forth commonalities — but disguise them in academic jargon and act as if they’ve said something profound. Part of the process of communication is exposing the several layers of truth — and putting it in varied language so that it comes across to any and all who are listening. All of which is to say I’ve always enjoyed stories that expose this nonsense. Take the business about titles — no one is a garbage man anymore — they’re Sanitation Engineers. No one is a janitor — they are called the Director of Custodial Services, or the Environmental Displacement Engineer. It reminds me of the story of the man eating lunch in an organic natural food restaurant. When he looked into his soup he was disturbed by what he saw. He called the…