DYSLEXINOMICON: "Do you know who I am?"

Monday, March 15, 2010

"Do you know who I am?"

Synonyms: "Have you ever worked for a powerful client before?"; "Let me tell you how things work in the big leagues . . . ."
Categories: Evasion, veiled threat.
Definition: "Do you know who I am?" is a phrase often uttered by a defensive underling of a tyrannical boss when trying to deflect away from his/her boss or ogranization the unwelcome scrutiny of an outsider. Implicit in the appeal to the power or prestige of his/her identity is a veiled threat to the interlocutor as well as the recognition that there may not be a legitimate objective reason to avoid the scrutiny. Which is precisely why this phrase is much more often uttered by relatively low-status individuals; truely high-status individuals will usually have a strong enough command of the domain of inquiry to derail scrutiny by 'helpfully' pointing out alternate avenues of inquiry that may be 'more productive' or 'more efficient'.
Etymology: Derived from "You can't talk to your parent that way!". Informs the interlocutor that he or she has violated a fundamental norm of the relationship and that, relative to the utterer, the interlocutor is a mere child with neither the position or understanding to question the utterer or evaluate any response.

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Submission and editorial policy of the Dyslexinomicon

The core of entries to the Dyslexinomicon have been gathered during my many years of field observation.

Due to the need to make each entry as broadly applicable to a general audience as possible, most entries represent the distillation of the observations of numerous, unrelated individuals. Given the sometimes sensitive nature of the communications involved, efforts have been made to strip all entries of information which may specifically identify individuals. No reference to specific individuals, living or dead, should therefore be inferred.

Although I am more than pleased to receive and acknowledge feedback and submissions from interested blog readers and colleagues, and efforts will be made to accomodate reasonable differences of opinion within the scope of this project, all final editorial decisions will be made by myself, without right of appeal.

Subject to the policy articulated above, submissions and feedback may be directed to me at: dyslexinomicon@gmail.com.

Why is the Dyslexinomicon needed?

It is needed because, for many people, the fragmented and often prima facie incoherent rhetoric of the information age leaves them feeling confused, distressed, and ironically, uninformed. They may feel that they have no reliable way in which to evaluate the flood of information information inundating them daily.

Over many years of study and professional practice I have observed an increasing number of such cases. These individuals tend to be quite representative of their communities and are often "high acheivers"--with above average I.Q.'s and good educations and are usually well-employed. I believe they are at the normative centre of a sick dynamic, rather than at the aberrant edge of a healthy one.

Pragmatically, there is little that these people can do. Pending favorable developments in the wider culture which are largely out of their control, the best that they are likely to acheive is a "cognitive bridge", some systematized way for themselves, as individuals with a healthy desire for cognitive coherence, to interpret the strange and fragmented "info speak" that prevails in the society around them. My hope is to develop the Dyslexinomicon into such a bridge.

"Info speak" is a broad term describing the style of discourse currently prevalent in our culture, commerce, and politics. I could have chosen any number of terms for this style of discourse, but I feel "info speak" is particularly appropos since the apparent redundancy not only clearly evokes its ironic inscrutibility, but also obliquely references the primary industry of our era, the economic engine driving its cognitive framework -- information management.

"Info speak" is characterized by a pithiness which is intended to convey an attractive sense of vigorous vitality and drive activity. Expressed in terms that may be disturbingly vague when viewed with an objectively critical eye, it can, however, for its intended audience, acheive a spectacular rapport and persuasive power.

The fragmentary, incomplete nature of "info speak" is in a way its unholy strength. The speaker appeals to his audience's vanity by offering them an opportunity to fill in the missing blanks from a more-or-less commonly understood store of cultural norms. Pride reinforced by having selected the "right" answers, the audience often attains an impressively high level of identification with the speaker. Each entry for the Dyslexinomicon will entertain a specific example of this dynamic as practical illustration.

But that strength is unholy, a profound debility short-circuiting productive discussion. While the underlying store of cultural norms to which "info speak" appeals may be more-or-less commonly understood, it is not reasonably complete with regard to the common sense ways in which its audience experiences the world. Many are morally reprehensible. Indeed, this feature of "info speak" seems calculated to provoke its audience to self-defeating behaviours.

But a caution. Any person publicly objecting to the narrow confines of "info speak" in search of greater coherence should beware that he or she is likely opening him or herself up to charges of naivete, stupidity or immorality. Objections are usually not viewed as sincere or legitimate, but rather as threats to the established harmony among the community and its patrons.

And that seems to be the lynch-pin in the array of cultural norms to which "info speak" appeals: an authoritarian group dynamic. Here fundamental choices about the conduct of public affairs, structure of behavioural incentives or application of sanctions has been remanded largely to a small self-selected group of wealthy elite whose decisions are not open to question. Possibilities for enhancing the current operation of our economy, polity and society are foregone for what is vaguely hoped to be a benevolent status quo.

DYSLEXINOMICON

Monday, March 15, 2010

"Do you know who I am?"

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Submission and editorial policy of the Dyslexinomicon

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