I’d characterize these as “intent-description” as opposed to “activity-description”. And I think the underlying problem is the compression inherent in short, catchy phrases to describe a complex endeavor that includes thousands or more people working on it. Famously and only somewhat tongue-in-cheek, one of the two unsolved computer science problems is “naming things”.
Failure to look into the model and activity behind any intended consequence will leave you open to manipulation and incorrect expectations. Failure to look at the intent can lead you to ignore the possibility that tactics and methods might need to change, and how aware the org is of that.
I agree that it can be hard to describe a detailed activity in a short phrase, especially to a layman who might care more that it is a weight-loss program than that it involves kettlebell swings. I don’t have a great solution for that.
Why not minimize the manipulation by describing both the intent and the means, as in “Mosquito Nets to Fight Malaria” instead of “Against Malaria” (pure intent) or “Mosquito Net Distribution” (pure means)? As you say, we might lead people astray if we don’t check the means against the intent, so I think we should avert that by specifying the means and letting the listener check it for us.
Why not minimize the manipulation by describing both the intent and the means
I believe, in most cases, this actually happens when you read/discuss beyond the headline. Use more words, actually put effort into understanding rather than just assuming the the 2-4 word description is all there is.
In the examples you give, it would be somewhat misleading to describe both motive and method—“weight-loss program” doesn’t specify mechanism because it applies to a lot of different mechanisms. The person describing it wants to convey the intent, not the mechanism—that detail is important for some things, and not for others, so it’s left to you to decide if you want it. “Against Malaria” likewise. They believe that the right tactic is mosquito nets, but if things change and that stops being the case, they don’t intend to change their mission or identity in order to use laser-guided toads or whatever.
Yeah, that was a good point about changing the means but not the mission. It would be costly to change the name of the entire foundation every time you changed your tactic.
In the examples you give, it would be somewhat misleading to describe both motive and method—“weight-loss program” doesn’t specify mechanism because it applies to a lot of different mechanisms.
We should probably do that when we are not experts. A doctor may safely call something a sleeping pill, but a novice at the gym should probably say “I’m doing crunches for weight-loss” and not “I’m on a weight-loss program”.
Use more words, actually put effort into understanding rather than just assuming the the 2-4 word description is all there is.
We both agree that if people went into the features, they wouldn’t be misled as often. I was hoping to make it easier to not be misled even when people didn’t spend time reading beyond the headline. That is why it would be crucial to mention features in the name and not just the intended result.
I’d characterize these as “intent-description” as opposed to “activity-description”. And I think the underlying problem is the compression inherent in short, catchy phrases to describe a complex endeavor that includes thousands or more people working on it. Famously and only somewhat tongue-in-cheek, one of the two unsolved computer science problems is “naming things”.
Failure to look into the model and activity behind any intended consequence will leave you open to manipulation and incorrect expectations. Failure to look at the intent can lead you to ignore the possibility that tactics and methods might need to change, and how aware the org is of that.
I agree that it can be hard to describe a detailed activity in a short phrase, especially to a layman who might care more that it is a weight-loss program than that it involves kettlebell swings. I don’t have a great solution for that.
Why not minimize the manipulation by describing both the intent and the means, as in “Mosquito Nets to Fight Malaria” instead of “Against Malaria” (pure intent) or “Mosquito Net Distribution” (pure means)? As you say, we might lead people astray if we don’t check the means against the intent, so I think we should avert that by specifying the means and letting the listener check it for us.
Thanks for the comment.
I believe, in most cases, this actually happens when you read/discuss beyond the headline. Use more words, actually put effort into understanding rather than just assuming the the 2-4 word description is all there is.
In the examples you give, it would be somewhat misleading to describe both motive and method—“weight-loss program” doesn’t specify mechanism because it applies to a lot of different mechanisms. The person describing it wants to convey the intent, not the mechanism—that detail is important for some things, and not for others, so it’s left to you to decide if you want it. “Against Malaria” likewise. They believe that the right tactic is mosquito nets, but if things change and that stops being the case, they don’t intend to change their mission or identity in order to use laser-guided toads or whatever.
Yeah, that was a good point about changing the means but not the mission. It would be costly to change the name of the entire foundation every time you changed your tactic.
We should probably do that when we are not experts. A doctor may safely call something a sleeping pill, but a novice at the gym should probably say “I’m doing crunches for weight-loss” and not “I’m on a weight-loss program”.
We both agree that if people went into the features, they wouldn’t be misled as often. I was hoping to make it easier to not be misled even when people didn’t spend time reading beyond the headline. That is why it would be crucial to mention features in the name and not just the intended result.
Thanks for the feedback.