What Is It "Really"?

The goal of training in general semantics is an evaluative state called 'consciousness of abstracting'. When conscious of abstracting we routinely delay our evaluations to consider the unique aspects of a situation, to gather additional data, including alternative interpretations. In the end we may not agree with an alternative interpretation, but we won't reject it without a fair hearing. To illustrate, i use the side diagram.


Typically, some of us say they see an old woman, others say they see a young woman. people who are seeing the diagram for the first time usually see one woman, but not both, and struggle to 'see' the second woman. You could spend the next few minutes helping see both women. But at the end, there may be some of you who still cannot see both women.


The point is that if we are not conscious of abstracting........if we do not differentiate between events and objects and discription and inferences....we may end our evaluations after our initial interpretation and end up in an argument over whether the image 'was really' an old woman or a young woman. If we are conscious of abstracting, we recognize that the raw sensory data are instrinsically meaningless. our nervous system, in its endless quest for meanings gives meaning to interprets these meaningless data that we then label 'old woman' or a 'young woman'. If we halt our investigation process after an initial interpretion, we may miss alternative and more appropiate evaluations.


If we confuse our interpretations of a situation with the situation itself, we may become easily irritated, angry, intolerant, suspicious.....of people who evaluate the situation differently. If we are conscious of abstracting, we will delay our reactions while we investigate alternative interpretations. This investigatory reaction serves as a foundation of advanced science-mathematical behavior.


A similar analysis from what i had learn is it can be applied to a trip to the art museum. Some ask, "What does it mean?" as if meaning were intrinsic to the work of art. Instead, we could ask, "What does it mean to me?......to you.....to the artist?". Meanings and evaluations are in us. If we are conscious of abstracting, we won't project our meanings and interpretations unconciously onto the world.


Now look again at the drawing of the women....can you find the 'rodents' in the drawing? Here are the clue.... Look at the chhek of the young woman. It can be nose. The necklace can be mouth, chest can be chin, and ear can be eye.