Topic Tuesday #157 2015/07/21 "Home Automation - Part 3 - Amazon Echo"

My quest for a Star Trek home experience has led me to Amazon.com. Amazon has released a fascinating device, the Echo. It is an amazing gadget! It is a black cylinder with two high quality speakers, seven microphones, wireless networking, and a brain in the cloud. You wake the device by calling a keyword. It is defaulted to "Alexa" and thanks to that cleverness and a pleasant feminine voice, it is a she, and she is pretty slick.

Topic Tuesday #137 2015/03/03 "Common Ground"

In any communication attempt between two individuals a common ground much be achieved before any discourse can be successful.

As an example of a common failing, take the word "theory". We have established we are speaking English here, at least we have that going for us, now we have to deal with meaning.

Do you have one or do you just ask Google everything now?

Where do we get our definitions from?
In most cases, we get them from our circle of influence. Oh you thought I was going to say dictionary? Sadly, no. We learn language at the proverbial apron strings of our parents. Slowly, formal education can supersede incorrect entries in our inbuilt lexicon. More often than not, the cognitive dissonance that this can create usually causes the most trusted source to be adopted, in spite of correctness. In the United States there has been a rash of anti-intellectualism where facts are debated as if they are merely opinions.

Back to the example of "Theory". If we are speaking about the theory of gravity, then we are dealing with a scientific subject. In the logic tree of life, this would be an indicator that we should use the definition that refers to science: "A supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained." This implies a valid explanation of a phenomenon.

Seems straight forward enough but what if you are not familiar with the ways science? Then you use this definition: "A set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based. Or an idea used to account for a situation or justify a course of action." This implies that something is unproven or speculative, not a solid understanding of a subject.

Here we have a dichotomy. What are we to do? We must agree on a definition to continue. We must reach common ground to continue.

Anytime I have to deal with a situation where the definition of words is the problem, I scramble to rephrase the entire sentiment with other language, grasping at what tenuous understanding may be possible. I'm reminded of a Star Trek TNG episode. Captain Picard was kidnapped by another captain to try to foster diplomatic relations. It was a first contact scenario and though the words were understood by the universal translator, the meaning was lost as Captain Dathon's people communicated through metaphor and shared experiences.

Dathon understood that he had to give them common ground; a shared experience that could bridge the distance between their people.

Translation: Finally the Terran get's it!

Topic Tuesday #157 2015/07/21 "Home Automation - Part 3 - Amazon Echo"

Topic Tuesday #137 2015/03/03 "Common Ground"

Have you encountered a problem with establishing common ground? What did you do to bridge the gap?