Am I a “Mind-Reader”? I wish! This is a commentary on The English Language. One would expect the phrases which become common linguistic currency to be things that happen all the time. Everyone knows what we mean when we say mind-reading, but they would be puzzled by the term, mind-writing. Were you confused by the title of this blog post?
Okay, what about sky-writing? Though it’s not very common, we would all visualize a small airplane emitting white smoke in the shape of words written in the sky. The word, “sky-reading” is not in our language. Though, what else would it be but reacting to the message left by the plane?
Back to the unfamiliar term, “Mind-Writing. We do it every time we set out to convince someone of our point of view. I’m doing it now. Authors do it! Editorialists do it! Commercial writers of all sorts do it! We are awash with words written to influence and educate us. Is Mind-Reading (the word we,ostensibly, understand because it’s so firmly entrenched in our language) actually a reality?
Can I read your mind? No, not that I know of. Can you read mine? Nope, but you can learn a good bit about my thoughts through my writing…. as well as my comments and behavior.
Does Mind-Reading even exist? Anyone who owns an intelligent, deeply-caring pet suspects that such a beloved animal is well-tuned to their thoughts and emotions. Many times, the exchange is mutual. Food, exercise, treats, greetings, sounds,love, moods, arrival, departure, approval, warnings, are often wordless transactions. Larger animals negotiate dominance or trust issues through visual clues, touches and mutual agreement, to which a human is often a party. A team of horses cooperates in the hands of a skilled driver. Lions perform for their trainer. Words are secondary, and yet, all minds are totally engaged with each other.
Teams of humans coordinate behavior in skilled and well-practiced ways. From sports, to dance, to military engagement; but no one thinks of it as mind-reading.
Therefore, absolutely no one engages in mind-writing, now do they? How foolish to state the obvious! Our mind is the originator of all that emerges from it. Duh! Some mind has formed every word on every page!
So, why isn’t the term, Mind-Writing, in the English Language? Does it exist in any language? I would love to know!
