Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg How meanings get words and social sciences get broken (with Literal Banana)
May 25, 2022
In this playful and insightful discussion, Literal Banana, a unique banana with a fascination for human social science, chats about the tricky nature of language and meanings. They explore how specialized jargon can both clarify and confuse social research. The conversation dives into the challenges of measuring abstract concepts like happiness and the complexities of survey design. With humor, they discuss the need for clearer definitions in sensitive topics like sexual assault and advocate for skepticism in existing research methods to foster meaningful change.
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Jargon Examples
- Spencer Greenberg uses bouldering and mixed martial arts as examples of hobbies with specific jargon.
- Literal Banana explains yarn spinning terms like "diz" and "hackle" to illustrate jargon's practicality.
Words as Pointers and Ethnomethodology
- Words function as pointers, picking out aspects of reality for shared understanding, influenced by ethnomethodology.
- Ethnomethodology emphasizes understanding context by embedding oneself in a group and observing their methods.
Abstract Words in Social Sciences
- Abstract words like "trust" are useful in conversations but can be misused in social sciences.
- Social sciences often imply universal meanings for abstract terms and give them degenerate meanings through measurement.