The Magic of Words
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- Опубликовано: 3 апр 2024
- Language is an enchanting device. In this episode we dive deep into the world of words, exploring the extraordinary power they hold over us.
The human mind can instantly conjure up feelings and images from a mere string of letters. It's as though words cast a spell over our senses, transporting us to new realms of understanding, informing our interactions with each other.
From the neural pathways involved in language comprehension to the subtle nuances that shape our perception of meaning in different languages, we'll uncover the secrets behind our linguistic abilities.
#pinker #cognitivepsychology #podcast #psychology #science #stevenpinker #motivation #success #mindset #sound #mind #brain #imagination #languagedevelopment #language #words #magic #bilingual
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Pinker always provides gems and "Aha!" moments. It's nice that he's putting up relatively short, narrow focus pieces. Makes the content much more accessible for casual consumption. So glad he put up this channel:D))
thanks
In turkish it is a taboo to say the turkish word for jinn, (cin) because people think that jinns can come when it is spelled out. Because of that we say something that translated to “those whose name has three letters” ( üç harfliler)
It is kind of amazing that people fear, and claim to get hurt by, certain sounds.
I think context is a big part of how a sound is perceived and processed.
We play this game, me and my kids, where we randomly assign a common household object a different name and tally at the end of the day who messes up the least... for a treat as a prize. I notice that if I give a meaningless made-up word like 'groodle' for phone... there are fewer errors... than when a real word with meaning is used like 'carpet' for spoon.
I've always done this on my own since I was little-use alternative names for things just _because_ (I'm not crazy)-and now I've done it for so long that I can just say sentences like "the watermelon is coming" and everyone who knows me knows I'm talking about a train lol
Great to see Pinker with his own channel. I feel like I've heard a few lectures from Pinker in the past on this very theme, but it's nice to see this updated to a consolidated form rather than a PowerPoint.
Still waiting on the new book, last I heard it was to be centred around common knowledge vs shared knowledge, is there an update on this?
Will check out findqualia.
Thanks Steven
Fantastic.
Interesting point about bi-lingual kids. On a related topic, when you start learning a second language in school, you start to raise questions about your own language, and ways of saying things that had been so “natural” are suddenly put in a disturbing perspective.
I remember at a dinner in Thailand a guest was saying that thaï language was dumb because for the plural they just repeat the word (he was a Brit I must say…) I answered first that there were no such things as “dumb languages”, secondly that the expression of the plural in thaï was not that simple, and third that I could not see why put an S at the end of the word was so much more clever. In addition, in languages that are close to us, there is a completely useless repetition of the expression of plural, as in “laS hermosaS niñaS cantaN”…
buenísimo y necesario
I’ve been thinking about this. Should we treat language as if it brings things about directly, simply because it has that effect on people? Even with dominant metacognition, the underlying magical machinery is still there to some extent, and you can be a willing participant for social reasons. I can play along with the idea of jinxing something, knowing perfectly well that the reasons we have such experiences range from biases to mistakes caused directly by the sudden awareness. It still melds into the social fabric in a very similar way, to the point where our understanding isn’t very apparent outwardly and doesn’t feel very different inwardly. Use or disuse of taboos is a sign of defiance or deference which, while ultimately symbolic, can be very powerful. I find this particularly salient in case of the N-word. It is another domain in which to hold power in lieu of physical violence. I do hope that enough healing will take place to reduce its power over time, as the racism and corresponding fallout it signifies fade.
I do once again appreciate the focus on internal mental states. Behaviorism is among the most dehumanizing attitudes. It’s important to highlight its failures. Everything to keep control freaks attempting to employ it to the extreme at bay.
Word magic is alive and well in religious settings. Words are presumed to damn you, like the unforgivable sin, and words can save you like the thief on the cross. Magic words in prayer to a god hoping to get things, favours and protection.
Bad sound
20 mins of useless rant every video rarely any new or great use information
This video is 8 minutes long! 😕