Skip the political for a second...

Look at the wonder of language and word play with this Krugman post: (emphasis add by me)

Now the economy is falling off a cliff — although according to the White House, nobody is predicting a recession (I seem to know an awful lot of nobodies)

I read it earlier this week. But I came across it again this morning. Seriously follow me for a second cause this part of communication is so beautiful, fun, and complex.

1) nobody is predicting a recession
2) I seem to know an awful lot of nobodies

So in 1 it is stating that those predicting recession don't exist. It is a concept without an actuality.

2 accepts in jest this construct... but re actualizes the enitiy so that what once was a concept with no actuality becomes a very real object. The use of awful lot with nobody is even better. To say nobody... and then one or two pop up can be randomness. To say nobody and there be so many one could hardly deny they didn't exist without steering towards pathological lying or pathological dislussion... creates humor.

And a (dare I say) few hundred blog readers smile instead of pull out their hair at conservatives.

Its better to laugh than scream. Screaming ups the level up intensity and hinders the helpful discussions that can occur through dialogue. Krugman does a funny...
but its really (and this is why I wanted to post on this) a funny of language usage that I have always loved and more than likely used too often.

I've been told in books I read that the later Wittgenstein steered away from logic and highlighted regular language as the key method for understanding the world. In my own poorly tutored view the analytic push said logic helps us aviod ordinary language because ordinary language may misrepresnet reality. That this is the cause of all our troubles. If I'm correct there is a catch to that truth. Ordinary langugage may misrepresent reality. But part of reality is understanding the effects and processes of misrepresentations and bad interpretations. If you stick to pure logic you lose some of the clever mishaps, emotional bumps, and distructive wrong turns. If you don't learn about those things how can you address the big questions in any meaningful fashion.

Granted I have neither a good enough grasp of symbolic logic, ordinary language, or a solid foundation in any of the philosophers who work in this area. I do use and play with ordinary language. And I certainly understand the experience of reality. What more I can speak of is simply random murmurs from a guy trying to not be overcome by the beauty, trapped by the dificulity, or turn hopeless from the meaninglessness of it all.

Put simply... I like plays on words that highlight something not just about language but expose something about the world... and liked this play by Krugman enough to point it out to you.

Krugman makes a funny... funny in two ways 1)nonsense of language 2) exposing conservatives as unable to listen to or use substantial portions of the economic community. Both come from his language usage. You just have to be listening closely to ever pick up on it.