All the a Trading Zone, and All the Languages Merely Pidgins
The article discusses the concept of 'trading zones' in communication, particularly among physicists with different specialties. It highlights how these zones facilitate interaction and understanding despite differing vocabularies and value systems. The author draws parallels between trading zones and pidgin languages, suggesting that both serve to simplify complex meanings for effective coordination.
- ▪Different specialties in physics develop their own vocabularies and value systems.
- ▪Trading zones are places where cultures come together for exchange and new practices emerge.
- ▪Pidgin languages are simplified forms of communication that arise when people with no common language interact.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
All the World’s a Trading Zone, and All the Languages Merely Pidgins 29 April, 201717 January, 2022 ~ Jnerst In my last post I wrote: People are different. We obviously act differently, but differences don’t start with the decision to act. We act differently because we perceive, parse, think, feel, want, need, react and judge differently. There is a substantial core of humanity in us all, but the older I get the more convinced I get that we seriously underestimate how different the inside of other people’s heads are to our own. There was a footnote attached that grew long enough to overpower the main post, so I split it off into a new one.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Everything Studies.
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