Don't think of an elephant

As he recounts in his book, Lakoff en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lakoff sometimes challenges his students in a class on semantics with a simple task: Don’t think of an elephant! The point is that, once the word in invoked, it automatically triggers a neural frame; you can’t ‘not’ think of an elephant. Lakeoff writes, “It’s not just the world ‘elephant’; it’s all words. And it’s not just one frame that’s activated unconsciously and automatically by words -- it’s a whole system of frames and metaphors. The more that system is activated, the stronger its synapses become, and the more entrenched it is in your brain -- all without your conscious awareness. That is why the conservative message machine, operating over thirty-five years, has been so effective.” It is also why, as Matt Bai chronicled in a fascinating ‘New York Times Magazine’ article, the Democratic Party rushed to adopt Lakoff’s ideas on framing in its recent campaigns. ~ Page 260

. . . On land, the heavy-weight brain champion is the African elephant. In terms of the absolute number of neurons, African elephants come out on top too, with an absurd 250 billion, around three times more than ours, in second place with around 86 billion. . . . Page 30 {From ‘Humanimal’ Author : Adam Rutherford}

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Esther ^club

I always think of elephants - my favorite animal. This is a lovely piece.

3 years ago.

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