Revising My Analysis of "One Dimensional Number Line Thinking" Slightly

I have been hearing a saying over and over, and it's really bothering me. But the easiest way I could think of describing why I dislike the saying so much involved seemingly contradicting one of my previous articles on One Dimensional Number Line Thinking.

After a bit of thought I think I figured out a better way to write that essay. However, I don't have time for that now. So here's the update for it, for the time being. I have realized better, the reason for my frustration of many folks trying to call others "Left" or "Right", or some smudge in between.

• Fact: Many words can be, and are, used as "scales".
• Fact: Many concepts (including individuals) can thought to be "measured", using just one-word "scales"; we often hear this when people speak about politics.
• Fact: I dislike it when people try to cram others down on to just a single number line, as though they could only be measured by one metric.
• Fact: When people speak of "Left", "Center", and "Right", they are most often referring to a One Dimensional Number Line Scale embodied in the amorphous word, Politics.
• Fact: The word "Politics" is, frankly, as wide as most people's lives and even the planet, since most folks live under rule of some government that has governance over our lives.
• Fact: I dislike it when folks over-generalize with statements like "the Chinese", "the people on the right", "those on the left", "the whites", "the blacks", "the Africans", etc...
• Fact: It's much easier to digest an over-generalization when it is a compliment than an accusation.
• Example. Easy to Accept: Those Asians have a really great talent for combining food ingredients in ways that juxtapose many physical characteristics: texture, temperature, color, and flavor.
• Examples. Useless Over-generalizations: Those blacks are wild in church. Whites sure don't know how to dance. Religious people are nuts.
• Fact: I do not consider myself alone in this belief, I have "political" views that some would call very conservative, other views that some would call regular conservative, other views that some folks would call center, and a number of views that some would call mildly liberal to very liberal.
• Fact: I guess with regard to my last statement, some might accuse me of being wishy-washy or confused, or not able to pick a camp, or some other accusation. Oh well. I try to ignore insults.

Conclusion
I think this line sums it up best: I dislike it when people try to cram others down on to just a single number line, as though they could only be measured by one metric, especially something like the concept: politics.

Ok, now that I've clarified that I feel a bit better about using various words as scales. :-) The moral of this little story is that words are tools and it's important to handle them carefully. Some words can be used without too much confusion when trying to place something on a scale (although time is still a relevant variable I think must be taken into account with all/most scales): happiness, level, temperature, pregnant, cloud conditions, etc...

But other words are much too general, encompassing copious camps, to use as though they were simple, accurate, scales, i.e. politics, religion, race, etc... I may add more to the list than that, to drive home my point, but I'd rather spend my time thinking of things that bring clarity, instead of showing what words can be used for confusion. :-)

My ending piece of advice with regard to trying to use any scale, is to consider inserting a percentage or estimation of some sort. Instead of saying, "Religious people are nuts," say, "Some religious people act nuts."

It is important to identify how many of the overly-generalized group there are, which you are talking about. If you don't imply anything less than "all", then "all" is the default assumption for most folks, and you will be misunderstood. Maybe in your mind you were thinking "some" or "most" or "many" or even "all", but of course the fact is you have to add that to what's spoken out loud.

However, it is also recommended that one tries not to get in to a speed-talking argument where it becomes much too easy to over-generalize. So, talk slower, try to figure out what the other person is saying as well as meaning, and try not to let the clubs of others' over-generalizations cause you to blurt. :-)