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To everyone who joined these forums at some point, and got discouraged by the negativity and left after a while (or even got literally scared off): I'm sorry.

I wasn't good enough at encouraging people to be kinder, and removing people who refuse to be kind. Encouraging people is hard, and removing people creates conflict, and I hate conflict... so that's why I wasn't better at it.

I was a very, very sensitive teen. The atmosphere of this forum as it is now, if it had existed in 1996, would probably have upset me far more than it would have helped.

I can handle quite a lot of negativity and even abuse now, but that isn't the point. I want to help people. I want to help the people who need it the most, and I want to help people like the 1996 version of me.

I'm still figuring out the best way to do that, but as it is now, these forums are doing more harm than good, and I can't keep running them.

Thank you to the few people who have tried to understand my point of view so far. I really, really appreciate you guys. You are beautiful people.

Everyone else: If after everything I've said so far, you still don't understand my motivations, I think it's unlikely that you will. We're just too different. Maybe someday in the future it might make sense, but until then, there's no point in arguing about it. I don't have the time or the energy for arguing anymore. I will focus my time and energy on people who support me, and those who need help.

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Words
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AWOL Offline
The Spooning Bard

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Post: #1
Words

I've been wondering for a while now. Has anyone here come across any words that describe the object or action in the word? I have not once come across a label for something that deserves to be part of a language. Their just combinations of scrawls to me. Nothing special. The words themselves are merely vibrations in the air which we transfer to meaningless noise which we then decipher into labels some long dead dude came up with.

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07-30-2008 04:15 PM
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dreamer... Offline
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Post: #2
Re: Words

I kind of get what you're saying. I have a love-hate relationship with words.

As a writer, I love them. I can create whole worlds with them, I can create people I would never meet in real life, places I would never visit...I can create perfection if I want. I can experience the thrill of being an FBI agent from the safety of my bedroom or meet the perfect boyfriend when I'm alone at home. My characters become an extension of myself...through them I vicariously share their adventures. Of course, I could keep it all in my mind...but it's the act of putting it into words that makes it more real. For me, words are much more than "just combinations of scrawls"- they do have meaning, and it is because of that meaning that I enjoy writing.

(Not to mention that words are very useful in everyday communication. A gaping mouth and wide eyes can't replace "Your 2-year-old sister just drank a bottle of hot sauce!" I mean, what would this forum be like if we could only communicate in smilies? Uhoh )

Now for the hate part. Words can be used to distort the truth- "putting the dog to sleep" when you mean "the vet is going to kill your dog." They're not always exact, and they can be misused. Words are like pants; sometimes they fit perfectly, sometimes they don't fit at all.

For me, the worst part about words is the way they take the mystery out of things. I'm assuming, AWOL, that you think in words. I know I do, and just about everyone else I've talked to does too. And I hate that. When I was young, my thoughts were just thoughts, clear and precise. They were my native language, and I understood them the second they popped into my mind. Now my thoughts are translated into words before I have time to think them. Although they still have meaning, the words often corrupt that original meaning. I really miss being able to think without words.

Basically, words have both good and bad qualities. They are powerful, but power corrupts.
08-02-2008 09:15 AM
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SoulRiser Offline
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Post: #3
Re: Words

Quote:Words are like pants; sometimes they fit perfectly, sometimes they don't fit at all.
And sometimes they're full of Poop
(sorry, couldn't resist)

Quote:When I was young, my thoughts were just thoughts, clear and precise. They were my native language, and I understood them the second they popped into my mind. Now my thoughts are translated into words before I have time to think them.
Mine don't do that... well, sometimes they do, but a lot of the time my thoughts are like abstract clouds... I have to put in effort to put them in words, and sometimes it's pretty hard if there aren't any good words to describe what I'm thinking/feeling. Which sucks because I like to write down my thoughts so that I remember them better later on. Razz

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08-02-2008 09:40 AM
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dreamer... Offline
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Post: #4
Re: Words

SoulRiser Wrote:Mine don't do that... well, sometimes they do, but a lot of the time my thoughts are like abstract clouds... I have to put in effort to put them in words, and sometimes it's pretty hard if there aren't any good words to describe what I'm thinking/feeling.
I'm extremely jealous. Even my most abstract thoughts are translated immediately into words, which means my "word-thoughts" aren't always accurate. But since I don't get to experience the pure, wordless thoughts themselves, I just accept the word-thought approximation as the real thing. You're the first person I've talked to that doesn't always think in words. When I ask others about it, their first response is "how else can you think?!"
08-02-2008 12:11 PM
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Ahab Offline
Machine Gnome

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Post: #5
Re: Words

AWOL Wrote:I've been wondering for a while now. Has anyone here come across any words tat describe the object or action in the word? I have not once come across a label for something that deserves to be part of a language. Their just combinations of scrawls to me. Nothing special. The words themselves are merely vibrations in the air which we transfer to meaningless noise which we then decipher into labels some long dead dude came up with.

You're being way too goofy and not really developing any concrete statement about language. Thinking in words is nothing. You have to think in meanings, and those meanings differ from person to person. So if you were tying to make some brilliant existentialist point about words being meaningless, I didn't catch on. Theres a fascinating element to vocal composition that you can't just brush aside as a mouthful of air; it's much more complicated than just that.

"If you think you know what the hell is going on, you're probably full of shit." - Robert Anton Wilson
08-02-2008 04:01 PM
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SoulRiser Offline
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Post: #6
Re: Words

Quote:You're the first person I've talked to that doesn't always think in words. When I ask others about it, their first response is "how else can you think?!"
Well, the simple stuff gets put into words so fast that I don't catch the original non-word thoughts. Stuff like "I'm hungry" and "It's bright out here" all come out in words. I think about a lot of things that I have a hard time putting into words, and that's probably why a lot of my thoughts are not in words. I think it has something to do with how you use your unconscious mind. Most people seem to not be very aware of what's going on over there, and that's probably why they can't think without words. Just a random idea though. I have no proof of this. Smile

On the other hand, you can also think by imagining a picture or by imagining certain things happening that don't involve wordy descriptions. I mean, if you think about a river, does the word 'river' override the picture of a river in your head? Confused

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08-06-2008 02:27 AM
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The_One Offline
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Post: #7
Words

If what you're saying is that through experiences we know meanings and feeling of certain things, and we as humans label all of these things with verbal words, but they are just words, not the actual meaning, this is true.

I believe that there are some very unique meanings for feelings out there that there are no labels for, how to describe them? No, the truest way of explaining it to someone, is for them to experience it for themselves, not to be told
02-24-2014 09:43 PM
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mehr672 Offline
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Post: #8
Words

These words are precious for every one and important for the life of any one.
03-26-2014 09:11 PM
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darkmind15 Offline
cynic

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Post: #9
Words

words are nothing but useless vibrations made up by man to understand eachother the inttention is what has meaning
03-28-2014 01:24 AM
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James Comey Away
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Post: #10
RE: Words

(03-26-2014 09:11 PM)mehr672 Wrote:  These words are precious for every one and important for the life of any one.

Holy shit, a bump not by Kaiba.

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03-28-2014 11:40 AM
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