After finishing the section on dead-level abstraction, I felt Hayakawa implied that people who write on higher levels of the ladder of abstraction always think they sound intelligent and are unaware that they are making little to no sense. I disagree with this implication and also with the idea that dead-level abstraction on high levels is as meaningless as it is on lower levels.
When John Lennon received a letter that the students of a high school were studying and analyzing Beatles lyrics, he decided to write a song that made no sense whatsoever. Thus, "I Am the Walrus" was released and became one of the most discussed and analyzed Beatles songs ever. People were determined to find reason and insight behind the lyrics and discovered their own personal meanings for the song.
Since Lennon stayed at very high levels of abstraction, the song could be interpreted in endless different ways. It is sometimes more interesting for the reader to have to think about the meaning of things rather than having it spelled out in writing that switches from high to low levels. While I agree that the examples Hayakawa gave about dead-level abstraction were hindrances to the reader, I'm surprised he didn't discuss when it works to the reader's benefit and entertainment.
-Alexa Kaczmarski
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I absolutely agree with you, Alexa. Sometimes it's better to interpret things in our view.
ReplyDeleteFor example, in History, students cannot form their own opinions on past events. Historians consider what has been recorded in history books as entirely correct, and students are expected to accept such recordings as veracious. To me, such factual recordings are cumbersome, for I enjoy analyzing things and am not able to do so with such a low-level abstraction.
-Chloe Martianou
I agree too. It reminds me of movies versus books. With a movie, you are forced to see things the way the director chose them to be. But with a book, you can envision the characters and settings in whatever way you want.
ReplyDelete-Elizabeth Campbell
I agree that high-level dead level abstracting may provide entertainment. Your John Lennon example was excellent, but that's only one way such abstracting is beneficial. I wasn't sure if you were entirely disagreeing with Hayakawa, because he is right that at other times dead-level abstracting at a high step on the ladder is detrimental. If a person talks on and on about big, general words without giving specific examples to back them up, there is no credence. For example, the example previously in the book, "The culinary art has reached a high state in America," IS a flat, meaningless statement because it stays on one level and isn't supported by any specific details. That statement encompasses too much; it's too high and ignores way too many examples disproving it (that one diner in Kentucky, for example, that got an unsatisfactory rating on the Zagat survey).
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure if you were disagreeing with Hayakawa in entirety, though; so if I'm misinterpreting you let me know!
I totally understand that type of example, and re-reading my post it looks like I was disagreeing entirely, but I definitely wasn't trying to do that. I was just surprised that Hayakawa didn't mention the good side of higher-level abstraction at all.
ReplyDelete-Alexa Kaczmarski
High level abstracting can definitely be beneficial in communication for some people. Politicians are probably the best example of this. Since giving details would always lead to criticism and a loss of support, politicians stick to broad statements like "we need to reform healthcare" and "we need to make the economy strong."
ReplyDelete-Bryce Cody
This isn't so much a comment about abstraction, but rather a thought I had about John Lennon. I tend to have those.
ReplyDeleteLennon wrote the song "I Am the Walrus" as a rejection of symbolism. Still, I think I'm misquoting Hayakawa when I say that rejecting symbolism is symbolic itself. For example, while wearing a flag pin is a sign of patriotism, many questioned what Barack Obama was trying to communicate during his 2008 campaign by NOT wearing a flag pin.
John Lennon had it rough. Examples of songs misinterpretted by the media are plentiful; Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds jumps to the forefront of my mind this morning. Unfortunately, part of being a Beatle was being scrutinized by the public. While the question may have never meant to have been asked, it was inevitable that every Beatles fan would wonder, "What the heck is an Egg Man?"
-Colin Groundwater
aren't you thinking of "glass onion"?
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