So you want to be an automotan..

[B_M_W]

I think I understand where BMW is coming from, and I tend to agree with him.  I know you don't like nitpickery but perhaps the better word to use is "robotic", adjective, as opposed to "robot", noun.  It may seem nitpickey, but really, there are two different meanings there. 

And meaning is everything when it comes to comunication.

[P3nT4gR4m]

I think I understand where BMW is coming from, and I tend to agree with him.  I know you don't like nitpickery but perhaps the better word to use is "robotic", adjective, as opposed to "robot", noun.  It may seem nitpickey, but really, there are two different meanings there. 

And meaning is important when it comes to comunication.

fix - words help too

[AFK]

So does this mean you can have communication without meaning? 

And yes, I have heard the term "meaningless conversation" before but let's be honest, what that really means is that it was a conversation in which one participant had no interest.  There is still meaning conveyed, just not a meaning that one participant finds relevant or important to them.  In any case what would an example of meaningless communication be? 

[P3nT4gR4m]

So does this mean you can have communication without meaning? 

And yes, I have heard the term "meaningless conversation" before but let's be honest, what that really means is that it was a conversation in which one participant had no interest.  There is still meaning conveyed, just not a meaning that one participant finds relevant or important to them.  In any case what would an example of meaningless communication be? 

At least 3/4 of the shit I come away with, I would imagine.

[Jasper]

To play the social angle, communication IS meaning, always, even if you don't mean anything.

[Jenne]

Felix has the right answer here.

Sorry folks, but every utterance you utter, every meaningless glance you give off...has meaning.  The linguist in me will have it no other way...

[LMNO]

Isn't there a lot of room for interpretation, though?


I mean, you can shrug, and think you're saying, "my bad".

But someone can interpret it as you saying, "go fuck yourself".

[Jasper]

Meaning is inexorably separate from interpretation.  Symantic is an oft-useful refinement of expression, but I find it cumbersome.

[LMNO]

Felix has the right answer here.

Sorry folks, but every utterance you utter, every meaningless glance you give off...has meaning.  The linguist in me will have it no other way...

Tourettes.


Just saying.

[Jasper]

In that case, a Tourette's person's outbursts are there to say, "I have tourette's -FUCK... syndome, BITCH!"

[LMNO]

Ah.  Fuckin Gotcha, whore.

[Jasper]

Confusticated again.

[LMNO]

Nope, I knew that one.

[Jasper]

Worth a shot. 

Like I was saying though, everything we do down to body language has an interpretive value.  Nothing is nothing, in human interaction.

[Cain]

Worth a shot. 

Like I was saying though, everything we do down to body language has an interpretive value.  Nothing is nothing, in human interaction.

In fact, it seems body language and tone outweigh content.  Which makes the web fascinating as it may be the first mass medium based on content alone.