It's interesting to contrast Barthes and Booth. I tend to use "I think" and "I believe" a lot in my writing. This article makes me feel better about that...
I think (there we go) it's the writing equivalent of being considerate toward your conversation partner, in this case, the reader. Leaving space for their views by acknowledging your own subjectivity.
That is a great way to look at it. I love the idea of being courteous to my partner by helping them understand the origins of my own perspective. I think I have subconsciously been trying to do that because I don't want anybody to think that I have a monopoly on truth or insight.
Layperson's Layperson lays it out for me: reading "wishy-washy, hedging, non-commital communication" has...certain effects. They might not be the same effects for me as they are for Layperson's Layperson, but there seem to be certain effects.
OTOH, the "god" POV seems to have...certain effects, too. I often wonder if, no matter how much critical thought I bring to some authority, if their prose ex-cathedra trickles down to some subconscious layer in me that might reverberate in some non-salutary way later on.
In embodied cognitive neurolinguistics, during my primary socialization, I heard Strict Father-type language and understood what it meant: do as I say or you get whacked. Always look out for yourself, because other people will try to trick you.
I also heard a Nurturant Co-Parenting language that was about taking care of others in order to be a good person. I understood that too. Presumably those semantic circuits are still there, hearing and reacting to those sorts of speech acts and all those (most of them) which would fall in-between.
Do we politicize here? I think I do. You will choose to, also. Or you will choose to ignore this.
Yeah I hear you. Clarity and having an actual point of view are important. The most frequent communication feedback I hear actually is that I’m too direct. But again, I think it’s possible to be direct and to the point while also acknowledging that you’re speaking only for yourself or otherwise leaving the door open for someone to challenge your view.
Yeah, people often ignore that scientific discoveries are group efforts and tend to try to pin inventions on 1 person suddenly getting 'inspired'.
It's interesting to contrast Barthes and Booth. I tend to use "I think" and "I believe" a lot in my writing. This article makes me feel better about that...
I think (there we go) it's the writing equivalent of being considerate toward your conversation partner, in this case, the reader. Leaving space for their views by acknowledging your own subjectivity.
That is a great way to look at it. I love the idea of being courteous to my partner by helping them understand the origins of my own perspective. I think I have subconsciously been trying to do that because I don't want anybody to think that I have a monopoly on truth or insight.
Layperson's Layperson lays it out for me: reading "wishy-washy, hedging, non-commital communication" has...certain effects. They might not be the same effects for me as they are for Layperson's Layperson, but there seem to be certain effects.
OTOH, the "god" POV seems to have...certain effects, too. I often wonder if, no matter how much critical thought I bring to some authority, if their prose ex-cathedra trickles down to some subconscious layer in me that might reverberate in some non-salutary way later on.
In embodied cognitive neurolinguistics, during my primary socialization, I heard Strict Father-type language and understood what it meant: do as I say or you get whacked. Always look out for yourself, because other people will try to trick you.
I also heard a Nurturant Co-Parenting language that was about taking care of others in order to be a good person. I understood that too. Presumably those semantic circuits are still there, hearing and reacting to those sorts of speech acts and all those (most of them) which would fall in-between.
Do we politicize here? I think I do. You will choose to, also. Or you will choose to ignore this.
Yeah I hear you. Clarity and having an actual point of view are important. The most frequent communication feedback I hear actually is that I’m too direct. But again, I think it’s possible to be direct and to the point while also acknowledging that you’re speaking only for yourself or otherwise leaving the door open for someone to challenge your view.