kemasminda

In linguistics, the phrase discourse analysis is used to refer to the analysis of both spoken and written texts. In each case, the aim is to analyse the way texts work across the boundaries of single sentences or utterances to form whole stretches of language. This sounds very simple, but actually the word ‘discourse’ has had quite a long and complicated history. The situation now is that it means slightly different things inside and outside the academic world; it can also mean different things in different academic subject areas. For these reasons, it’s worth spending a bit of time thinking about its variant meanings. The basic meaning of ‘discourse’, in modern ordinary usage, is ‘talk’. Originally, the term ‘discourse’ came from Latin, discursus, meaning ‘to run’, ‘to run on’, ‘to run to and fro’. Historically, it has been applied more to rehearsed forms of spoken language— like speeches, where people ‘run on’ about a topic— than to spontaneous speech. The modern meaning of ‘discour...

  Confidence Before Realism.  In the unpredictable and often terrifying conditions of the Stone Age, those who survived surely were those who believed they would survive. Their confidence strengthened and emboldened them, attracted allies, and brought them resources. In addition, people who appeared self-confident were more attractive as mates—they looked as if they were hardy enough to survive and prosper. Thus, people who radiated confidence were those who ended up with the best chances of passing on their genes. The legacy of this dynamic is that human beings put confidence before realism and work hard to shield themselves from any evidence that would undermine their mind games. Classification Before Calculus.  The world of hunter-gatherers was complex and constantly presented new predicaments for humans. Which berries can be eaten without risk of death? Where is good hunting to be found? What kind of body language indicates that a person cannot be trusted? In order to...

I have discovered that practising introspection works as a healthy way to recalibrate the mind in order to maximise progress in our endeavours. This works effectively because the very act of regularly looking within oneself becomes a time for the mind to cool off and to declutter. By creating conscious headspace, it becomes easier to realign the reasons for one's current list of priorities. This, in turn, helps to unveil a sense of lucidity for goal setting, and more importantly, system setting, which leads to a highly fruitful curve of productivity when successfully implemented.  Reflecting and writing down our ambiguous thoughts does help clarify and flesh out the short-term purposes we hold. This is because introspection is more than just making time for goal setting and timetabling, it introduces a layer of 'questioning' (the process of dissecting the reasons driving personal thoughts and goals) in addition to 'doing' (the kinaesthetic act of completing a partic...

De Kef (Decaf) The tinnitus of Love Under the brooding sky, a tepid swath of rain morosely crept across the tangled hills and dripped into the squalid cell blocks roughly lathered with cracked cement, pulling new stripes of colour onto the muck and rot that stuck to its walls.  An old man sat alone in an underground hole, listening to the myriad of faint footfalls tapping above his hidden confinement. Bound to a series of rope girdles that extended to the ceiling, he would have looked like day-old bait, if there was any light to see him by. The old man kept his sunken eyes shut tight in the pitch-black darkness, and he was gently swaying with the ropes, the frayed end of his beard occasionally brushing against the bare edges of his ribcage.  He was feeling a series of powerful emotions, but he ignored them. He could have stood, walked or sang songs to pass the time, he mused.  But there was no point in doing so now. He was already at peace. The old man swayed in the rhyth...

 CHOOSE YOUR DIRECTION make use of free will.   Jesus and the blind man. Why does Jesus ask him what he wants when it is obvious he want to see? Choose area (learning, marriage, finance, friendships) of importance to you, and make 3-10 goals. What measurable  and compelling goal is possible? Set the goal, and then you have the direction. Reticular activating system: it helps you find whatever you are focusing on.  E.g. Search for blue items. Okay, how many purple items are there? you don't know. Because you only focus on what you look for. Your brain gets excited and get power the moment it knows what direction it is about to take. Decide  your exact deadline when you will achieve it. Also, ascertain what you want to sacrifice . (time/money/patience/difficult situations) The price will be  "Where there is no vision, people perish"-Solomon  CHOOSE YOUR REASONS Do you have insight to yourself? Be a person of deep water, look deeper. Introspect. What...

 Gricean Maxims Co-operative principle Grice argued that a basic foundational principle which is followed by all rational adults is to co‑operate with one another when engaged in spoken interaction.  From Grice’s perspective, all interactions can be defined as co-operative efforts to at least some degree. His co-operative principle is as follows: Make your contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged. (Grice 1975: 45)  In order to illustrate this further, Grice devised four conversational maxims which logically follow on from the co-operative principle:  Maxim of quantity  Make your contribution to the conversation as informative as necessary Do not make your contribution to the conversation more informative than necessary  Maxim of quality  Do not say what you believe is false Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence  Maxim of rele...

  New York; place published, p=1pg, pp=many pgs FOR LINGUISTICS