Listening is Hard
Dave Winer,
Scripting News,
Oct 26, 2012
I've written a lot over the years, and one thing I've learned is that if it can be misinterpreted, it will be. Part of this is just bad writing on my part, and I do what I can to make my writing clearer. Part of it is the nature of language itself, as words underdtermine intent, and this forms a core concept in my own philosophy of language and meaning. But a large part of it, as Dave Winer points, out, is entirely outside the writer's hands - the reader needs to make an effort to undertsand what has been written. There are some well-trodden paths to misunderstanding: reading that you think is there instead of what is there, reading someone familiar to you rather than the actual author, skimming, taking what is written personally, and reading intent into the text. Good post - I liked it so much I made an image.
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