| . Inferring Meaning Implications For Reading Implications For Writing | Inference: Reading Ideas as Well as WordsIdeally, speakers mean what they say and say what they
mean. Spoken communication is not that
simple. Much of what we understand—whether when listening or reading—we
understand indirectly, by inference. Listening involves a complex
combination of hearing words, analyzing sentence structure, and attempting to
find meaning within the context of the given situation.The situation with the written word is no different.
A text does not contain a meaning. Readersconstructmeaning by what they take the
words to mean and how they process sentences to find meaning.Readers draw on their knowledge of the
language and of conventions of social communication. They also draw on other
factors, such as knowledge of the author (“Would Henry say such a thing?), the
occasion (“No one knew such things then!”), or the audience (“He’d never admit
that publicly.”)
They infer unstated
meanings based on social conventions, shared knowledge, shared experience, or
shared values.
They make sense of
remarks by recognizing implications and drawing conclusions. Readers read ideas more than words, and infer,
rather than find, meaning.Inferring MeaningConsider the following statement: The Senator admitted owning the gun that
killed his wife. On the face of it, we have a simple statement about what
someone said.
Our understanding, however,
includes much that is not stated.
We
find meaning embedded in the words and phrases. Unpacking that meaning, we can
see that the Senator was married and his wife is now dead—although this is not
actually stated as such.
(In fact, the
sentence is about an admission of gun ownership.)
It is as though the single sentence contains a number of
assertions:- There is a Senator.
- He owns a gun.
- He is married.
- His wife is dead.
- That gun caused her death.
- The Senator admitted owning that gun.
Clearly, the original sentence is a clearer and simpler way
of conveying all of this information.
Writers take note!On a more subtle level, we recognize that a public figure
confronts involvement in a major crime.
Our understanding need not stop there. We infer that the gun (or at
least a bullet) has probably been recovered and identified as the murder
weapon—or the notion of an admission would make little sense. We also recognize the danger of unwarranted inferences.
We recognize that we do not necessarily know
if the Senator's admission is true.
We
do not really know whether the Senator is in any way responsible for his wife's
death, nor do we know that she died of gun shot wounds (she could have been hit
over the head with the gun).
We do not
even know if it was murder—it might have been suicide or an accident. Are we reading things in here?
Or are these meanings truly within the sentence?
We are going beyond that the textsays, but not beyond what it actuallymeansto most readers. Inferences such as these are essential to
both written and spoken communication. Writers often only hint at what they
mean, and mean much more than they actually seem to say.
On the other hand, we can see the danger
(and temptation) of assuming facts or interpretations for which evidence is not
present, and recognize that a critical reader reads with an open mind, open to
many possible interpretations. The following story is often presented as a brain twister.
In fact, it’s a reading exercise. A
man and his son are driving in a car. The car crashes into a tree, killing the
father and seriously injuring his son. At the hospital, the boy needs to have
surgery. Upon looking at the boy, the doctor says (telling the truth), "I
cannot operate on him. He is my son." How can this be? Decide on your answer before reading further.Whether this passage is a brain twister or a reading passage,
readers must assume that any lack of understanding is not due to the story, but
due to their own lack of understanding.
We must work harder to think about how the story might make sense. We quickly see that we have to explain how a doctor can have
a son ("I cannot operate on him. He is my son.") when at the same
time the father is dead (“The car crashes into a tree, killing the
father”).
The answer:
The doctor is the boy's mother.
Many readers are blinded to this meaning by
the sexist assumption that the doctor must be a male.
A somewhat similar example has been offered by Robert Skoglund, The Humble Farmer of Public Radio in Maine (http//www.TheHumbleFarmer.com), as follows:
We had visitors a week or so ago. Houseguests. Six of them. One of them was Oscar who teaches geology at the University in Utrecht. Now I love houseguests. Usually. But when they arrived I discovered that two of them couldn't even walk into the house. Had to be carried in. And then I found out they couldn't talk, either. What would you have done if you'd been in my place? How do you handle a situation like that?
See the end of the page for possibly the most appropriate advice.
Implications For ReadingAll reading is an active, reflective, problem-solving
process.
We do not simply read words;
we read ideas, thoughts that spring from the relationships of various
assertions.
The notion of inference
equations is particularly powerful in this regard.
Readers can use the notion of inference equations to test whether
or not the ingredients for a given inferences are indeed present.
To show lying, for instance, a text must
show that someone made a statement that they knew was incorrect and that they
made that assertion with the specific purpose of deception.
If they did not know it was wrong at the
time, it’s an error, not a lie.
If they
did not make the statement for the specific purpose of deception, we have a
misstatement, not lying.Implications For WritingThe notion of inference equations is equally useful for
writing.Writers must assure that the
ingredients of the equation are present and clear, and that the desired
relationships are signaled in a clear and effective way.
As writers, we must be aware that our
readers will interpret our thoughts. We
must strive to make our meaning as clear as possible. We must provide
sufficient examples to make our ideas clear, as well as to short-circuit
undesired interpretations.
We must
recognize what evidence is necessary and sufficient for our purpose, and assure
that it is included. And we must choose
our terms carefully for accuracy and clarity of meaning, and spell out our
exact thoughts in as much detail as possible. We must recognize biases our
readers might bring to the text and explain and support our evidence as much as
our conclusions
The advice: Buy diapers.
| |