There's no doubt that the sentence above will draw mixed reactions. Some will scan the words and pick up only what's in their faces -- the bolded, and even coloured letters JUMP off the page, and for readers with short attention spans -- which is most, I'm sure -- this message is all they receive.
However... there is more to the sentence. You just have to look more closely.
I think it's quite safe to say that everyone has had at least one instance in their life where their words have been misinterpreted by somebody.
You say one thing, and the meaning received is the complete opposite from what is intended.
These situations can become slightly awkward since we generally attempt to be as clear as possible, so we can properly get our message across.
In small cases, such as a conversation with a friend or acquaintance for example, what does it matter? They're your friend, so you have time to clarify or let them know exactly what you meant.
These ramifications for misinterpretation are much smaller than those for misinterpretation on a much larger scale.
Misinterpretation on the world scale.
Now you may think that misinterpretations are nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to be taken seriously, and almost always just a misunderstandings that are easily reversed. But what really determines whether an interpretation is wrong? Can an interpretation ever be wrong?
Well, if the meaning received is different from what is intended it's not necessarily wrong, it's just how you interpreted it.
How about interpreting musical lyrics?
"I can't confront you,
I never could do,
That which might hurt you,
So try and be cool when I say -
This wave, is a waterslide away from me
That takes me further every day -
So be cool
Say it Ain't so,
Your drug is a heartbreaker.
Say it ain't so,
My love is a life taker."
Lyrics taken from: "Say it Ain't So" - Weezer
When I was younger, I interpreted these lyrics to be about love struggles with a girl.
In listening to the words of the song more, and as I got older, and became more aware of the world, I realized the song is actually about Rivers Cuomo's struggle with an alcoholic for a father.
Both interpretations are arguably right, but it's a matter of opinion.
Let's look at an example on the world scale.
The Bible.
This is an example, not of "misinterpretation" but of debate over which interpretation is correct. Roughly 38,000 Christian denominations exist in the world of today and many of them use the same bible.
Although some are quite content with believing what they believe and not bothering anyone else, many feel the need to debate as to whose beliefs are or interpretations are correct.
Where is all of this going?
Well, everyone is different when it comes to communicating their opinion on a certain subject.
For instance, you may not share your political views with everyone since you do not feel comfortable sharing how you feel about politics or you might enjoy sharing your political views, opening yourself up to new views, and discussing why you feel the way you do about the party you follow.
Differences in comfortableness affects what you say and how you say it.
HOWEVER, once you make a defined statement about your opinion -- whether it be on paper, in public, or on video -- it's with you forever. (Alexander Sevigny Lecture # 2)
In the video above, actor/producer Mel Gibson is interviewed after making anti-semetic remarks while being arrested on a DUI charge.
Gibson is reported as saying "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world."
The worst part is he then proceeds to tell the interviewer that his remarks AREN'T anti-semetic.
Sure, everyone screws up once in a while. The difference, for celebrities, is that their lives are under constant surveillance. Mel Gibson made a public statement about his opinion, and regardless of how hard he tries, his one night DUI turned anti-semetic rant will follow him forever.
The interviewer poses the question, "If it's not in you, is it going to come out [regardless of sobriety]?" What a difficult question to answer; on the other hand, reputation holds no biases. In other words, people don't know whether the opinion you're expressing is false, or genuine.
But... what if someone INTENDS to base their reputation mostly on negativity and outlandishness?
Example? Perez Hilton.
Think, right now, about what know about him. You probably recognize the similarity in names between Perez and Paris Hilton -- two completely different people. You might even know Perez Hilton because you've heard of his site or his blog -- in which he incessently bashes celebrities.
Lots of people do it, right? Why is Perez Hilton so famous?
Watch this short clip of Perez sharing with Victoria Beckham.
A "robot with really big boobs"?
And that's MILD for Perez.
On his website, www.perezhilton.com he has an uncountable number of more distasteful comments including a picture of Kourtney Kardashian exercising, branding the obviously Perez written dialogue on the front of the picture, "Most exercise since spermination!"
As ridiculous as his brand and his comments are, they are his and his alone. And he owns them. The difference between Perez and Gibson, however, is that Perez Hilton is actually in charge of his reputation.
Granted, racial or bigoted slurs are harder to defend, but in general, if you make a statement and back down, you are regarded as a phony, and very few will later take you seriously. Despite how Perez Hilton acts, people know who he is, and they know that he knows who he is.
As a communicator, Perez effectively communicates that he is "Perez Hilton - The most notorious celebrity blogger on the web". And you know what?
People believe him.
Photos
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nscblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/dilbert_misinterpretation.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.nscblog.com/%3Fp%3D776&usg=__c-GDFWMAXd0Fvn7ZgT1kr3evRTg=&h=193&w=193&sz=7&hl=en&start=7&um=1&tbnid=DxqbxgAAjUUYmM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=103&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmisinterpretation%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1R2GGLL_en%26um%3D1
http://deconstructingthoughts.mlblogs.com/Weezer%20-%20Blue%20Album.jpg
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPQjHiVaDmE
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