Monday, July 10, 2006

Don't know what I'm saying? Read my mind.


"Words are the just the tip of the iceberg. Their meaning depends on the underlying social and emtional context. For example, 'Do you want a cup of coffee?' can mean 'Are you tired?' or 'Can we talk privately?' The meaning beneath the words comes from common experiences and the ability to 'read' a person's mind."

A multi-media explanation on language on npr.org leads me to wonder: Should robots take Kindermusik, too?

2 comments:

yasser said...

i cant quite understand why empathy is at the deepest. also all levels should more or less have overlapping issues.

Molly McGinn said...

Though empathy takes a lot of deep, abstract, imaginative thought. You have to imagine what it's like to be someone else. It's one of the toughest things a child has to learn when it comes time to share. You have to have empathy to understand that it's important to share, not because you want to, but because sharing is necessary part of making friends. That's when a child learns they actually need and want friends. Some people never get that.

Thanks for the comment, though. Neat picture.