The definitive value of seeking definition

Not so much a masterpiece of reason and intellect, but a method that I wish to share with you all A method that I fear is often neglected or taken for granted.

Definition

I sat listening to Dan Gillmor talking at the GSB on Friday, briefly illustrating trends and prophecies about our changing world in his book We the Media (published under Creative Commons and available online). We came upon a problem that I’ve been facing for a long time in my own writing – modern day popularity vs veracity. To this, he added a term that I hadn’t put much focus on before – reputation.

These terms were brought up with regards to open-sourced journalism, as such, and designing a system of improving the veracity of accepted published media. On the surface these two words, popularity and reputation, have rather similar definitions.

These ideas being published under Creative Commons, I thought I would run with the obligation to initiate a thought process for solving. For this, I consulted good ol’ Google definitions and read up a chunky selection of definitions for these words. I have always believed strongly in undertstanding the term completely before attempting to tackle it (a method that I have upheld for many years) and find that simply strengthening my understanding of each word helps my brain to blossom nice long chains of thoughts very quickly. An essay or thesis instantly pops into my mind with all accompanied intricacies.

It always impresses me when somebody states their definition or understanding of a word within the given implications or context that they are discussing. Choosing a specific implication of any word over another helps one to drive their point harder, which I find is uber-useful to good thinking.

On a similar note, I was debating with Max about the ways in which the modern sms/technology age has dumbed down language and subsequently dumbed down understanding and good thinking. Shortening, digesting, redigesting and simplifying, communication is taking a risky walk in the dark. Not to go into boring details, but many argue that this new age has only transformed thinking and not sabotaged itself. Your conclusion is your own, but I do implore you to review definitions and general understanding as I have above. Nobody likes to be labelled illiterate (with the connotation of ’stupid’, perhaps), but some intelligences and thought processes are surely incomplete without having a good arsenal of vocabulary and meaning?

As I do like to say
”prose before hos”