re- e-prime and truth

[Tracey Showalter <tshowalt -at- SCTCORP -dot- COM>]

re: e-prime and truth

[note: I just deleted the message I'm responding to, so the "quoted" lines
below are constructed from memory and are assuredly inaccurate. Please don't
hold this against me.]

With respect to:

>         She is smart.
>         What does this mean? E-prime forces us to tell the truth.
>         She scored 1450 on her SAT.
>   or    She marries only very rich men.

I've never used E-prime nor have I tried to, so take this thought with a sea of
salt:

Using E-prime does sound like an interesting tool, but is it more? "She scored
1450 on her SAT" is no more truthful than "She is smart", just more explicit as
to what is meant by "smart". Being required to write in this manner would help
remove vagueness -- begin mindless ramble "Nay, it seems not "... and gee I
wish I could remember my Hamlet  end mindless ramble -- from my writing, but
how would it make it more truthful?

This reminds of me of rehearsing for a play when the director had us run
through an entire Act while speaking our lines without consonants. Sure,
through the exercise we learned that acting requires more than intelligible
speech, but did we act or did learn? Would you want to attend a play presented
in such a manner?.... "to be" serves a vital purpose in our language.

oo ee o o oo ee?
a i u eyi.

I'll go back to my Hamlet now..

Tracey Showalter
tshowalt -at- sctcorp -dot- com