Indeed, it’s very depressing. I doubt I’ll ever be able to understand other people, but I do have some hope for internal consistency in my usage (so mathnerd314_February2014 writes things that seem comprehensible to mathnerd314_July2020). I’ve collected my early 1990′s writings and they all sort of “click” into place, in that I understand them well enough to rewrite them word-for-word. Perhaps by writing down definitions for my words I’ll be able to see how the concepts have evolved over time (or that they haven’t changed).
If you are really a math nerd, then you might notice that things (human language) are not as hopeless as it looks.
Imagine that words (the identifiable mental identities behind the utterable sylable sequences) are entities that the human brain uses to trigger some (but mostly not all) of the aspects of the concept (the mental identities of human thought) that is intended to be communicated by an utterance (or written sentence).
Words are only parts of the aggregate communication. They are less building blocks (implying compositionality) and more shards. Each shard adding meaning. Words must almost always be used together.
This is because each word is chosen by the brain to add as much meaning to the already output speech as possible by selecting that word which implies the most features (neuronal activation patterns) of the concept to be transported currently or next (that is the reason we can choose shorter more ambiguous words when the context implies them).
The fact that we try to give precise meanings to words doesn’t mean that precise definitions are necessary (nor efficient) for communication. Having precise definitions has another benefit: It allows for the relationship between words and complex concepts to be easier acquired. And by this route more complex concepts can be aquired and communicated more efficiently.
The conclusion is that you don’t need definitions for your words to communicate more clearly with your future self. It is sufficient to have a sufficiently large corpus of text of yourself. That would allow you to infer more about your earlier self than a few condensed definitions.
It sounds like we’re in violent agreement here. I’ve already verified experimentally that writings by mathnerd314_1998 are clear to mathnerd314_2009. My brain doesn’t change that much over time.
Instead, I have two other questions:
can mathnerd314_2014 understand Gunnar_Zarncke_2014 on the same level he understands mathnerd314_1998?
If both mathnerd314_2014 and mathnerd314_2020 independently write down definitions, will they be textually different?
My hypothesis is that #1 is “no”, because internal organization of concepts varies dramatically from person to person, and that #2 is “yes”, because people do change over time.
But first of all you can likely better understand me than yourself when you were less than ten years old. Surely less than 5 but possibly even less than when you were less then 15. We often underestimate how much we change over time (there must be studies confirming this).
And then it is rather likely that you produce differnt textual definitions on the same day a) when you are in different mind states (sleepy<->alert, intoxicated<->clean, happy<->sad), b) in different social circumstances, c) likely even in differnent locations. This is because the context these circumstances provide leaks into your speach and your definitions.
Indeed, it’s very depressing. I doubt I’ll ever be able to understand other people, but I do have some hope for internal consistency in my usage (so mathnerd314_February2014 writes things that seem comprehensible to mathnerd314_July2020). I’ve collected my early 1990′s writings and they all sort of “click” into place, in that I understand them well enough to rewrite them word-for-word. Perhaps by writing down definitions for my words I’ll be able to see how the concepts have evolved over time (or that they haven’t changed).
If you are really a math nerd, then you might notice that things (human language) are not as hopeless as it looks.
Imagine that words (the identifiable mental identities behind the utterable sylable sequences) are entities that the human brain uses to trigger some (but mostly not all) of the aspects of the concept (the mental identities of human thought) that is intended to be communicated by an utterance (or written sentence).
Words are only parts of the aggregate communication. They are less building blocks (implying compositionality) and more shards. Each shard adding meaning. Words must almost always be used together.
This is because each word is chosen by the brain to add as much meaning to the already output speech as possible by selecting that word which implies the most features (neuronal activation patterns) of the concept to be transported currently or next (that is the reason we can choose shorter more ambiguous words when the context implies them).
The fact that we try to give precise meanings to words doesn’t mean that precise definitions are necessary (nor efficient) for communication. Having precise definitions has another benefit: It allows for the relationship between words and complex concepts to be easier acquired. And by this route more complex concepts can be aquired and communicated more efficiently.
The conclusion is that you don’t need definitions for your words to communicate more clearly with your future self. It is sufficient to have a sufficiently large corpus of text of yourself. That would allow you to infer more about your earlier self than a few condensed definitions.
It sounds like we’re in violent agreement here. I’ve already verified experimentally that writings by mathnerd314_1998 are clear to mathnerd314_2009. My brain doesn’t change that much over time.
Instead, I have two other questions:
can mathnerd314_2014 understand Gunnar_Zarncke_2014 on the same level he understands mathnerd314_1998?
If both mathnerd314_2014 and mathnerd314_2020 independently write down definitions, will they be textually different?
My hypothesis is that #1 is “no”, because internal organization of concepts varies dramatically from person to person, and that #2 is “yes”, because people do change over time.
I agree.
But first of all you can likely better understand me than yourself when you were less than ten years old. Surely less than 5 but possibly even less than when you were less then 15. We often underestimate how much we change over time (there must be studies confirming this).
And then it is rather likely that you produce differnt textual definitions on the same day a) when you are in different mind states (sleepy<->alert, intoxicated<->clean, happy<->sad), b) in different social circumstances, c) likely even in differnent locations. This is because the context these circumstances provide leaks into your speach and your definitions.