We can’t see atoms.\u00a0 We suppose their existence.\u00a0 That is, the existence of atoms is inferred.<\/p>\n
Inference is an important notion in general semantics.\u00a0 General semantics teaches the difference between fact and inference.\u00a0 Both facts and inferences are statements we make.\u00a0 But they are qualitatively different in a very important way.\u00a0 Let’s look at some statements and see if we can figure out which is fact and which is inference.<\/p>\n
‘<\/span><\/div>Which is fact? Which is inference?<\/strong>
\n1. John is six feet tall.
\n2. John is mad.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nNow, let’s assume we’re looking at John and we have a ruler with which to measure him.\u00a0 You probably have guessed right, that statement #1 is fact (assuming it’s true!)\u00a0and statement #2 is inference.\u00a0 What is the qualitative difference between the two statements?<\/p>\n
You might say that an inference is a guess in order to fill in a hole in a story, while a fact is a verifiable measurement of some sort in order to fill in a story.<\/em>\u00a0 That is, an inference is unverified, and once it becomes verified, only then can it be potentially treated as fact.<\/p>\n
Note:
\nInference :\u00a0unverified :: Fact : verified<\/strong><\/p>\nAcceptable methods of verification would ultimately be for another\u00a0blog post.\u00a0 Generally speaking, rulers would be acceptable for verifying height.\u00a0 Reading someone’s facial expression might be acceptable for verifying feelings; however, given that people lie, joke, act, etc., facial expressions aren’t acceptable for verifying feelings.\u00a0 How we arrive at what’s acceptable or unacceptable is a whole other topic.\u00a0 I’m choosing now to focus on the idea that the existence of language is not fact, but inference …<\/p>\n
Now how on Earth can I say that?\u00a0 You might say that what you’re reading is definitely<\/em> language.\u00a0 You might say it includes sentences, words, punctuation, etc., and by making those observations, you say there’s language.\u00a0 I see your point, but in my opinion, that’s not acceptable for verifying there’s language if you want to get technical and remain scientific<\/em>.<\/p>\n
If you want to remain scientific, you start with observing phenomena.\u00a0 When it comes to what you’re suspecting is language, you don’t see<\/em> language.\u00a0 Instead, if you’re reading this online, you see pixels emitting light.\u00a0 That’s what you observe.\u00a0 You infer<\/em> that these pixels are communicating something and thus is language.\u00a0 You are interpreting<\/em> these pixel emissions as language.<\/p>\n
If you’re reading this as a printout, you see toner or some kind of ink.\u00a0 That’s what you observe.\u00a0 You infer<\/em> that this toner or ink is communicating something and thus is language.\u00a0 You are interpreting<\/em> these blots as language.<\/p>\n
But note that not all language is written, that a lot of language is spoken.\u00a0 So, again, to remain scientific, you start with observations.\u00a0 You don’t hear<\/em> language.\u00a0 Instead, you detect sound waves.\u00a0 That’s what you observe.\u00a0 You infer<\/em> that those sound waves are communicating something and thus is language.\u00a0 You are interpreting<\/em> these sound waves as language.<\/p>\n
It may be hard to wrap your head around this understanding that the existence of language is not fact but instead inference.\u00a0 The challenge, if you’re having trouble accepting it, is for you to produce proof that something is language.\u00a0 This might be easy for you to do if you’re producing the language.\u00a0 But it’s not easy for you to prove if I start speaking in the following way:<\/p>\n
‘<\/span><\/div>Ooooeeeeaaaaaa Eeeeeeeeyiyiyiyiyiyi.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Note that that’s a transcription of sounds I hypothetically said.\u00a0 Because I can transcribe sound, have I spoken language?\u00a0 Well, if it’s language, what have I said?\u00a0 You might infer that I have attempted to communicate something.\u00a0 Then again, you might infer that I have not<\/em> attempted to communicate something.\u00a0 You can’t verify it without peering into my head and finding some incontrovertible proof that I’ve spoken language.<\/p>\n
What is the value of knowing the existence of language is inference rather than fact?\u00a0 I’m not sure.\u00a0 I guess it’s value lies in the understanding’s application.\u00a0 I can make languagelike sounds that people can try to interpret, which would be a vain endeavor.\u00a0 Inkblots on a page might not resemble language by they might be interpretable communication.\u00a0 Human brains probably operate with prejudices that sort out what’s language and what’s not, which can lead to confusions when the opposite is the case.<\/p>\n
Anyway, food for thought.\u00a0 Please post a reply if you have a reaction to these ideas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We can’t see atoms.\u00a0 We suppose their existence.\u00a0 That is, the existence of atoms is inferred. Inference is an important notion in general semantics.\u00a0 General semantics teaches the difference between fact and inference.\u00a0 Both facts and inferences are statements we make.\u00a0 But they are qualitatively different in a very important way.\u00a0 Let’s look at some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[114,109,110,111,81,112,113],"class_list":["post-768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-semantics","tag-existence","tag-fact","tag-inference","tag-language","tag-science","tag-sound","tag-verification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/benhauck.com\/offthemap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/benhauck.com\/offthemap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/benhauck.com\/offthemap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benhauck.com\/offthemap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benhauck.com\/offthemap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=768"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/benhauck.com\/offthemap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":774,"href":"https:\/\/benhauck.com\/offthemap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768\/revisions\/774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/benhauck.com\/offthemap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benhauck.com\/offthemap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benhauck.com\/offthemap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}