09 May 2001

Random Questions

Some random thoughts tonight:

Question: Can there be such a thing as effective use of connotation when most audiences -- not to mention writers -- cannot even master denotation?

I don't want to elaborate on what that means.

That sounds just like someone I know. I've been thinking much like that person all day.

More questions: Can one be both an introvert and an extrovert, or are they mutually exclusive (much as one cannot be a libertarian fascist)? Would a person instead be, say, an introvert, but have moments or even periods of extroversion? How would that work?

[Posted @ 11:42 PM CST]

COMMENTS

My answer is right here.

Strange to see you talking so like Hanah!
[Posted by Andrew on 10 May 2001, 01:29 AM CST]

I was just asking that the other day- whether people could change. I am an extrovert for sure, but there are just some periods of time when I don't want to be around anyone.

Are you going to pose your answers to your own questions, Kevin?
[Posted by Renee on 10 May 2001, 09:08 AM CST]

I've heard two definitions of introversion/extroversion. Neither one has much to do with liking people, per se.

One definition says that if you're an extrovert, you get your energy (recharge) from being around people. If you're an introvert, you get it from being alone. Introverts can enjoy being around people but it wears them out. By this definition I am an introvert.

Another definition says that introverts are more interested in *individuals*, and extroverts are interested in people in general. Perhaps an introvert might prefer a one-on-one conversation in depth where an extrovert prefers a group? Not to say you dislike one or the other, just that you have a preference for one of them.

The answer is probably the same old boring thing it always is: it's a continuum. And you can probably move a bit on the continuum depending on circumstance. In my first semester at college, I behaved like an extrovert. Once I eased in, I spent more time alone and was pickier about spending time with other people, which is truer to my more introverted nature.

The "one true companion and to hell with the rest" describes me to a T, also. Other people are great, wonderful, exciting, but I don't *need* them.

Whew, this got long.
[Posted by Evelynne on 10 May 2001, 03:27 PM CST]

I am obsessed with figuring out the thing Kevin doesn't want to elaborate on.

Here's a nice simple definition and illustration of the two words.

Ugh, now I need to know the context. What audiences and writers can't master denotation? Maybe that's what you didn't want to elaborate on.

I would think that even people who have trouble with denotation can be aware of connotation in a vague, subconscious sort of way. It's there, like tone of voice in a conversation. Whether they could articulate what the connotation is, I doubt it.

When I'm writing carefully, I am obsessive about both denotation and connotation and will fuss a lot over whether a word has the exact shade of meaning I'm looking for.
[Posted by Evelynne on 11 May 2001, 02:49 PM CST]