Conference turris::womannotes-v1

776.0. "Point(s) of View(s)" by YODA::BARANSKI (Words have too little bandwidth...) Mon Mar 28 1988 19:19

This note is about Points of View...

I'll start with my Point of View about Point of View, and hopefully I'll get a
lot of replies about other people's Point of View on Points of View, and how we
can better talk about Points of View. :-}}} 

My Point of View is that people should be specific about what they say/write to
make it obvious that they are only conveying their Point of View, not what your
Point of View is or should be, and not that what is observed happens all the
time, everywhere, and always will happen. 

To illustrate a point, but not to pick on anyone, let's take the imaginary case
of Jarl getting a ride home with Rosen.  Jarl doesn't like the way Rosen drives,
and later complains to his housemate, saying "Men are careless Drivers". 

I would object to that Point of View first because not all men are bad drivers.
I am upset by this generalization; I would be upset with this generalization
whether I was included or not, but I would be most upset if I was included in
the generalization. 

Now it may be the case that Rosen was in a particular hurry that day, so it may
even be an overgeneralization that even 'Rosen is a careless driver'.  Jarl's
Point of View, what he saw, was only of one incident, and that is really what
his expression of his Point of View should express.

"Rosen is a careless driver", also implies to me that Rosen always has been,
and worst yet, always will be a careless driver.

It may even be the case that Rosen has a lot of experience at race car driving,
and while he drives fast, he is also careful, and in complete control.  Again,
Jarl's Point of View was of Jarl's opinion/reaction/feeling to Rosen's driving,
and perhaps that should be what Jarl's Point of View should express. 

Or maybe it was only on that particular street, or phase of the moon, or
because Jarl hadn't taken a shower that morning that Rosen was in a hurry.

My Point of View is that a Point of View is only a instant snapshot of reality
of a very limited range of view, from one angle, and conveys little or nothing,
and perhaps should convey no assumptions as to what is going on inside the
people in the snapshot. 

Rosen might not get upset about being told that she was in a particular hurry,
but I am sure he would be if Jarl insisted she was after Rosen denied it. Which,
in effect, is what a snapshot Point of View "Rosen is a careless driver" does,
if Rosen is not allowed to change that snapshot Point of View of herself.

To whom does a Point of View belong to?  The person taking it, the people in it,
or the person who Views that Point of View later when it is presented to them as
it was to Jarl's housemate?   I imagine both the person taking the Point of
View, and the people pictured within the Point of View. 

So, why are we not all more specific?

Well, it take a long time to be specific, and add in all the appropriate
qualifiers...  But maybe it's good for us, makes us think about what our Point
of View really is. 

In addition, I believe that a lot of times, we confuse a Point of View of a
specific Point of View with our accumulated Points of View, our past experience.
It may very well be that Jarl had been in a number of auto accidents with men
previous to riding with Rosen.  Sometimes we mean to generalize, but it would
take a very long time to be specific about our generalizations, so we use a
shorthand, and just overgeneralize.

There's just not enough bandwidth in words.  I'd give a lot for telepathy, to be
able to express how I arrived at a particular state of being without being
misunderstood, including how I feel, and all the experiences which lead up to
that, and how I felt each time, and how the other people involved reacted each
time instead of simply having to make do with, "Men are careless drivers." 

    Why is this note HERE?.

    re: .0
    
    You should listen to the casette of "Nilsson the Point"
    written and sung by Nilsson Schmealsson.