Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!esosun!kobryn
From: kobryn@esosun.UUCP (Cris Kobryn)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Human-human communication
Message-ID: <200@kvasir.esosun.UUCP>
Date: 9 Jun 88 23:06:37 GMT
References: <32403@linus.UUCP> <238@proxftl.UUCP> <1315@crete.cs.glasgow.ac.uk> <905@papaya.bbn.com> <198@esosun.UUCP> <920@papaya.bbn.com>
Organization: SAIC, San Diego
Lines: 45
In-reply-to: barr@pineapple.bbn.com's message of 8 Jun 88 20:56:21 GMT


   In article <198@esosun.UUCP> jackson@esosun.UUCP (Jerry Jackson) writes:
   >
   >Some obvious examples of things inexpressible in language are:
   >
   >How to recognize the color red on sight (or any other color)..
   >
   >How to tell which of two sounds has a higher pitch by listening..
   >
   >And so on...
   >
   >--Jerry Jackson


   All communication is based on common ground between the communicator
   and the audience.  . . .
   
   I will now express in language:
   "How to recognize the color red on sight (or any other color)..":

   Find a person who knows the meaning of the word "red."  Ask her to
   point out objects which are red, and objects which are not,
   distinguishing between them as she goes along.  If you are physically
   able to distinguish colors, you will soon get the hang of it.

Right.  However, I suspect Mr. Jackson was pointing to a more difficult 
problem than the simple one for which you have offered a solution.
I believe he was addressing the well-known problem of expressing 
_unexpressible_ (i.e., ineffable) entities such as sensations and 
emotions.  This is the sort of with which writers contend.

While a few  writers have made a reasonable dent in the problem, 
it remains far from resolution.  (If has been resolved the word 
_ineffable_ should be made into an _archaic usage_ dictionary entry.)  
A concrete expression of the problem follows:

	How does one verbally explain what the color blue is to someone 
	who was born blind?

The problem here is to explain a sensory experience (e.g. seeing 
"blue") to someone lacking the corresponding sensory facility 
(e.g., vision).  This problem is significantly more difficult than the 
one you addressed.  (Although a reasonable explanation has been offered.)

-- Cris Kobryn