September 13, 2013

The More We Obfuscate the Less We Become Human

When I see extreme obfuscation in a company it worries me that this company doesn’t have what it takes to survive and thrive.

Laura Rittenhouse

Language is what gives us meaning. Very simply if you think about it we share this planet with a lot of creatures in addition to ourselves, our human species. And it seems that each one of them has been given a trait that allows them to survive and thrive in the environment. So bears have very keen hearing. Eagles have very sharp vision. They can see and swoop down and get their prey. We humans have been given language.

Lots of people will argue, “Well yes but monkeys can have language, other animals have some kind of way of communication.” But we are the only species that’s able to use words in a way abstractly to begin to control our environment not just adapt and be in our environment.

And this is a powerful, powerful tool. So when I see extreme obfuscation in a company it worries me that this company doesn’t have what it takes to survive and thrive.

In Their Own Words is recorded in Big Think’s studio.

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