Since words are used to communicate ideas, it would make sense to say that the more words one knows and understands, the more ideas one would be able to convey. With increasing complexity, one can refer to an increasingly complex and expansive range of concepts.
If you had a thought, but no way to express it... it would fade away. The more intricate the thought, the more difficult it would be to retain. Thus I conclude: the larger one's vocabulary, the more powerful one's thoughts... potentially. I still enjoy deviling in silliness and juvenile jokes (it's manchild in me, I guess).
As a child, my parents often encouraged me to play Boggle, Scrabble, and to read. I did. Now, I'm no better than anyone else, but I did have one other experience that helped me significantly: In preparation for the GRE's I studied the 1000 Most Important Words book, and the entire Princeton Review's Word Smart I, II, and Genius series, vocabulary building CD's. I was exposed to these resources through the McNair Scholars Program. Special thanks to Ray Shiraishi.
Althought I frequently reference Dictionary.com I'd like to make a statement of defense: Regarding the "Mental Heuristics" rap I wrote: all those words came straight from my working vocabulary; I consulted no thesaurus, dictionary, or other source. Sometimes I get into a riff where I think in rhymes. This time, I decided to write it down and organize it.
It was inspired by lyrical & creative geniuses like Matisyahu, Jason Mraz, Jeru The Damaja, and of course, Eminem. Ellen Robert ( Director of the McNair Scholars Program at Davis) would be ashamed of me...
Every human being learns a language (under normal circumstances), and that first language becomes their primary tool for communications both internal and external. We think and speak in words. They are symbolic utterances to which we designate an agreed upon meaning. Meanings must be shared in order for society to function.
Words are not the things they represent, but many people respond to them like they are. This concept means that saying the word "fart" is not the same as a fart actually occuring. Still many people make a fundamental judgment error by responding to the word as if it were the thing. This error can be observed by conducting this simple experiment:1. Sit down at a table during a meal with women present. (The more uppity, old, or refined the better)
2. After everyone has started to eat, politely begin a conversation about flatulence, reguritation, dismemberment, or infanticide. My Uncle KC is a pro at this. His favorite opener is "The other day while I was taking a crap..." then he just lets it hang in the air for a while, and enjoys the ensuing response!
This post was meant as a joking/loving response to some family critics. I love you. You know who you are... :-)
1 comment:
I still have to stand my ground on this one: if you don't know the meaning of the word, then you should not be able to use it (especially in GAMES)! But since your vocabulary is so extensive, I can basicly count on you winning boggle, scrabble, etc. everytime anyway. I think it is great that you do know so many unique words. Keep up the good work, hon!
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