Language, limits, learning

“Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man” – Martin Heidegger

“The limits of my language means the limits of my world” – Ludwig Wittgenstein

Some time ago I’ve become student for an online course I wish I’ve taken on earlier, the Cynefin Foundations one. Even from the first chapter, the course designer’s (among them being one person I highly regard, Dave Snowden) places a big emphasis on language and its importance when learning.

Coincidentally, this came just two weeks I’ve been part of course on Nonviolent Communication (NVC), where the main takeaway was the importance of language and awareness of communication process.

Having these two elements on comparison, at this moment I am far more open accepting the take on language coming from the Cynefin team, as it is explained in a more easy to swallow and understand perspective, being more logical and based more on practice. I guess this is what clicks for me, logic and sound reasoning.

Such approach is even more important when considering the AI hype and LLM centric approach many take. In an LLM context, one of the L comes from language, made of words. So language is and becomes even more important. How do I convey the meaning of my thoughts as clearly as possible to a machine will become an increasingly important question.