1. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 1 The Language of Awareness: Taking Responsibility for Meanings integrating what goes on in here with what goes on out there … differences that make a difference... and Applying what we know

2. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 2 The trouble with people is not so much with their ignorance as it is with their knowing so many things are not so. – William Alanson White 1

3. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 3 Time-binding Alfred Korzybski (1879 - 1950) born in Poland, a nobleman raised in four languages studied engineering, mathematics wounded in World War I serving in the Russian calvary experienced the devastating effects of mens inhumanity against men published Manhood of Humanity (1921), Science and Sanity (1933) What makes humans human? How do they differ from other living things?

4. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 4 Time-binding Plants: Animals: Humans: bind (organize) chemicals - nutrients, soil, water, oxygen; photosynthesis bind (organize) chemicals like plants + bind (organize) space; self-moving bind (organize) chemicals like plants + bind (organize) space like animals + bind (organize) time Humans possess the unique ability to bind time - to build on the accumulated knowledge of others

5. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 5 Time-binding Language is the tool that enables time-binding Inter-generational: –transfer knowledge and wisdom from generation to generation; avoid re-inventing the wheel –child can build on the work and discoveries of the parent, and all those who have preceded –word of mouth, books, plans, diagrams, maps, pictures, instructions, libraries, music, codes, signs, symbols, etc. Intra-generational: –exchanging knowledge and wisdom among contemporaries; cooperate and graduate

6. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 6 but... How is it that we humans have advanced so far in science, mathematics and technology, yet we demonstrate so much confusion, misunderstanding, and violence in our interactions with others and within ourselves? - Milton Dawes Time-binding What accounts for the advances of science? What accounts for the lack of advancement of societies? 4

7. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 7 A Scientific Approach Observe, Collect Data Hypothesis Test, Experiment Hypothesis confirmed? Scientific Orientation: Facts first, then assumptions, conclusions, beliefs Tentative conclusions due to available data Tentative conclusions due to ever-changing processes Theories accepted as theories, based on data to date Predictable outcomes - a key objective No Yes

8. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 8 We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove- lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again - and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore. – Mark Twain Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts. – Anonymous (tacked to Einsteins board) 5 6

9. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 9 So far weve discussed... Do we apply what we know? (Do you apply what you know?) Korzybskis time-binding distinction: the ability of human beings to transfer knowledge and build on the achievements of others Language, and manipulation of symbols, serves as the tool that enables time-binding Humans have been more effective time-binders in science, engineering, mathematics, etc., than in our sociological endeavors (i.e., were still killing each other) A certain approach, or orientation, has facilitated the advancement of the sciences - a scientific approach

10. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 10 All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions. – Leonardo da Vinci The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. – Marcel Proust We see the world as we are, not as it is, because it is the I behind the eye that does the seeing. – Anais Nin 7 8 9

11. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 11 Abstracting Model 1. Something Happens (What Is Going On - WIGO) 2. Sensory, Nervous System Impact of WIGO 3. Evaluation (Report of What Happened) 4. Meaning of the Evaluation Meaning Behavior Feelings Judgments Conclusions Reactions ThoughtsAttitudes etc. Expectations

12. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 12 Abstracting Model 1. Something Happens 2. Sensory Impact 3. Evaluation 4. Meaning Meaning Behavior Feelings Judgments Conclusions Reactions ThoughtsAttitudes etc. Non-verbal Verbal Inferences What we sense is NOT what happened What we describe is NOT what we sense What it means is NOT what we describe We cannot know all that happens

13. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 13 Abstracting... over Times Meaning (1) Behavior Feelings Judgments Conclusions Reactions ThoughtsAttitudes etc. Inferences Meaning(3)Meaning(4)... Meaning(2) t(1) t(2)t(3)t(4)

14. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 14 You dont get meaning. You respond with meaning. – Charles Sanders Peirce I perceive that we inhabitants of New England live this mean life that we do because our vision does not penetrate the surface of things. We think that that is which appears to be. – Henry David Thoreau 10 11

15. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 15 Abstracting Humans can only perceive a fraction of What Is Going On around us Our experiencings of WIGO are limited and incomplete Our understandings of WIGO are limited and incomplete What we sense is not WIGO What we can describe is not what we sensed What we infer, assume, conclude is not what we described We project our meaningful abstractions forward into our future WIGOs

16. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 16 How many Black Dots?

17. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 17 – Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch Who rules our symbols, rules us. – Alfred Korzybski If your language is confused, your intellect, if not your whole character, will almost certainly correspond. 12 13

18. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 18 The map is not the territory Structurally similar Relations Order Limited features Made by mapmaker Static - must be updated Dynamic, complex Process-oriented Macroscopic Microscopic Sub-microscopic

19. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 19 The map is not the territory The word (symbol) is not the thing Structurally similar Relations Order Limited features Made by mapmaker Static - must be updated Dynamic, complex Process-oriented Macroscopic Microscopic Sub-microscopic

20. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 20 The word (symbol) is not the thing (?) duh-uh! …but what about: Superstitions? Jinxes? Taboo words? Word magic? Advertising? Propaganda? Political speeches? Do we sometimes react to words as if they were things? George Carlin

21. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 21 The word (symbol) is not the thing A little different attitude … Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life; let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life; words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Wonderful Words of Life, Philip Paul Bliss, 1874

22. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 22 The word (symbol) is not the thing Words dont mean … only a person does. There is no meaning in a word. We sometimes talk about this as the container myth. Now you can put something in a glass – water, dirt, sand, anything. A glass will hold something, and we can talk about this as a container. A word, however, is not a container in the way a glass is. A container of meaning is a man, a woman, its you. Its you listening, it is I talking. It is I listening, its you talking. A word doesnt mean. -Irving J. Lee, (1952) - Professor of Speech, Northwestern Univ What is your attitude toward words and language? 0

23. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 23 Whats your attitude toward words? … baaad words! (Not!) Wonderful words of life … Words dont mean … people mean …

24. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 24 A more scientific attitude toward language 1. Differentiate facts from inferences Lees Criteria – Facts 1.Can be made only after observation or experience 2.Stays with the observation; does not speculate or presume as to intent or motivation 3.As close to certainty as humanly possible – would you bet your life on it? Lees Inferences 1.Can be made anytime, even present or future 2.Goes beyond what is observed, speculates intent, purpose, motivation, etc. 3.Expressed in terms of degrees of possibility or probability – not worth betting your life!

25. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 25 A more scientific attitude toward language 2. Avoids either-or, black-white, right-wrong, for-against, etc.; acknowledges ambiguity, shades of grey; views possibilities across a spectrum or continuum (more-less) 3. Recognizes multi-causality of events … many causes, many effects; avoids the reason why, the cause of; hardly ever only one cause 4. Given uniqueness of individual experience, maintains a to-me- ness orientation: (or the email version – IMO) its cold in here … to me that movie was a waste of money … to me hes the most boring teacher … IMO

26. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 26 A more scientific attitude toward language 5. Recognizes the structural flaws in the Subject/Predicate grammar: The roses are red Is red (the color) a quality inherent in the rose? Or is red (the color) a product of an individual observers nervous system? Is the rose red to someone who is color blind? The roses appear red – to me

27. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 27 A more scientific attitude toward language 6. Recognizes differences among individuals: - Teacher(1) is not Teacher(2); Minority(1) is not Minority(2) 7. Recognizes change over time: - Ursula(2000) is not Ursula(1990) - Bowl of milk(Monday) is not Bowl of milk(Friday) 8. Appropriately reflects the actor of the action 9. Limits inappropriate use of absolutes, such as: all, none, every, without exception, 100%, exactly, absolutely; and is 10. Recognizes more could be said – etc.

28. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 28 Maps, Territories, Words and Meanings The map is not the territory A good map is structurally similar to the territory Our abstractions - evaluations, meanings, judgments, etc. - are not the territory A good mapmaker must update her maps What do words mean? What do people mean? What is your attitude toward words and meaning? Distinguish between facts and inferences Apply a more scientific approach or attitude toward your language habits … make your language better map what you know about the world around you

29. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 29 So what?

30. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 30 If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimation of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. – Marcus Aurelius The power men possess to annoy me, I give them by a weak curiosity. No man can come near me but through my act. – Ralph Waldo Emerson God may forgive your sins. But your nervous system wont. – Alfred Korzybski 15 16 17

31. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 31 Me and Pavlovs Dog … Conditional Response Conditioned Response (no Evaluation) saliva Meaning Behavior Reactions Stop Go Slow Look Turn … He made so mad, I could just spit!

32. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 32 Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Self- Actualization Self-Esteem Love, Belongingness Safety Needs Physiological Needs Verbal Non-verbal Meaning WIGO

33. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 33 He who learns and learns and yet does not what he knows, is one who plows and plows yet never sows. – ancient Persian proverb, quoted by Alfred Korzybski 18

34. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 34 Now what?

35. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 35 Responsibility Language Thoreau Meanings Awareness Korzybski Time-binding Pavlov Maslow Angell Scientific Approach Facts Beliefs Theories Nsync Differences Conditional Response Inferences Knowledge etc. Nin Proust Peirce da Vinci Abstracting Sinatra Mathers Maps Territory So … what do you know? What will you apply? Expectations So what? Carlin

36. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 36 Whats the Take-away? Other memorable take-aways: Follow the yellow brick road Follow the money Show me the money Plastics May the Force be with you

37. Sep 29, 2000 © Steve Stockdale 2000 ThisIsNotThat.com 37 Heres your Take-away Look for the relations ThisIsNotThat.com