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1-Page Summary of The Stuff of Thought
Overview
Words can be used as weapons to attack and humiliate people. Swear words are a great example. However, history has shown that these vile insults can be transformed into positive terms by using them to describe yourself in a positive way. Try it out and see if you can change the perception of the insults directed at you.
Learning languages is a key part of our lives. As infants, we learn how to talk by pointing at things and describing them. However, language can be complex because it’s not just about words; rather, there are also rules associated with language that make it so interesting. For example, children have the ability to learn grammar without being explicitly taught—they’re born with this knowledge in their brains! Swearing is another fascinating aspect of human language because it shows us how people interact socially through speech. In these paragraphs, you’ll discover the complexity of human communication and its history through an analysis of swearing and other parts of speech like verbs and nouns.
You’ll also learn why the 9/11 attacks are worth $3.5 billion if you see them as two events instead of one, how Bill Clinton used a grammatical error to escape scandal, and how Eliza Doolittle shocked audiences in 1913.
Big Idea #1: Even the most tragic events can spur linguistic debates. Words have more practical importance than we think, and even the slightest changes in language can change our perception of things.
September 11, 2001 is a day that will forever be remembered. On this day, two planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. However, even traumatic events can cause debates about words and their meanings. For example, some people argue if 9/11 should be considered one event or two separate ones because it was so horrifyingly dreadful with both towers crashing down at almost exactly the same time (8:46am and 9:03 am respectively).
There are two ways to view the September 11 attacks: as a single coordinated terrorist attack that provoked a series of military and political responses, or as two separate instances – one on the north tower and another on the south.
The footage of the first tower engulfed in flames and then the second tower being hit drives home just how different the two attacks were. This distinction is important because it matters to people’s lives. Words are very important in our daily life, especially when it comes to law. For example, if 9/11 was considered a single event instead of two events, Larry Silverstein would have been able to receive more money for his loss since he was insured for up to $3.5 billion per destructive event.
So, language is not just a game. It has real-world consequences in terms of how we communicate with others and how they understand us. In this section, we’ll explore some examples of that by using less tragic situations.
Big Idea #2: Unlike adults, babies must master grammar and sentence structures.
Have you ever wondered why babies cry so much? Well, one theory is that they’re working on learning language. It’s no easy task for them because children don’t just learn language by copying others. For example, you can say “she ate scrambled eggs with bacon” and “she ate scrambled eggs and bacon.” But hearing this wouldn’t teach a child to ask questions in the form of “what did she eat the scrambled eggs with?” rather than “what did she eat the scrambled eggs and?”
English grammar is difficult to learn because there are so many exceptions and idiosyncrasies. This is why babies have to learn the rules of language as they grow up. In English, it’s correct to say “I poured wine into the glass,” but incorrect to say “I filled wine into the glass.” These rules aren’t entirely random either; they’re related to each other in some way.
