April 29th, Class #29 (what a kuwinkidink!) "The self explorer, whether he wants to or not, becomes an explorer of everything else." Elias Canetti

3 Syllabus Changes Playlist – 41 songs 78 Video Clips 28 Journal Entries 2 sets of Groups 34 Assigned Readings

Perception – Reality according to A.R.’s Journal “After mulling over this idea all weekend, I have come to the conclusion for myself that I believe perception is not reality. While we all glimpse reality, we always view it through a lens that is tinted by our own experiences, beliefs, values, and what angle we perceive from. As we have discussed at other points in time throughout the course of this class, we can never know or see or sense everything; it’s impossible. Also, it is impossible for us to not be biased to reality and see it exactly as it is. We are only able to see one angle of reality, and even that one angle is tinted, fragmented, and shaped according to us. Therefore, what we perceive is not reality.”

PR Perception – Reality A. R.,... come on down!

K. asked... “For our final paper, can we use first person? I tried making the paper formal but I feel like I can't convey my meaning without using first person format.”

Thoreau in Walden “We commonly do not remember that it is, after all, always the first person that is speaking. I should not talk about so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well. Unfortunately, I am confined to this theme by the narrowness of my experience.”

Who rules your symbols?

Temperature Metaphor Without air conditioning, the temperature inside is a function of the temperature outside. temp in = f(temp out )

Room Temperature – Unregulated Air Conditioning With on/off (unregulated) air conditioning, the room temperature depends on whether the A/C is on or off. temp in = f(A/C on/off )

Room Temperature – Regulated Air Conditioning With regulated A/C, the room temperature stays within a prescribed comfortable range. temp in = f(Comfort + A/C)

“Rate Your State” during a day in the life of... Without ‘regulation,’ your state of comfort, stress, anxiety, etc., may vary wildly throughout the day. Your state = f(what happens to you)

“Your State” with semantic regulation... to With some degree of regulation, you can mitigate “what happens to you” with how you respond. Your state = f(what happens + your response)

... or what I call or what I call... ERR CONDITIONING

Do Words Have Power? ► F = ma Force (Power) = mass x acceleration M. W.’s Journal: “We give words legs” ► 2 Forms of Energy (Power)  Potential (words)  Kinetic (words accelerated by people at a specific time, in a specific context)

MEaning(s) Q: If you had 1 hour to evacuate your home prior to a devastating tornado and could only take one box that you would have to carry by yourself... what would you take? What means the most to you?

Closing Comments ► Wendell Johnson: After you’ve studied General Semantics ► etc.... more could be said...

Last Song in the Playlist What principles do you recognize in this song?