We easily hear and see when people are talking and writing, but we often do not understand what they are talking or writing about . This book addresses some sources of confusion in discourse and offers suggestions for diminishing it.

Preface Introduction What Are You Talking About? - Language and Abstraction Learning New Words - How We Develop Meaning Words Are Not What They Refer To – The Map Is Not the Territory Words, Words, Words…, and Tables, Cars and Elephants – Intensional and Extensional Orientation The Good Guys and the Bad Guys - Two-Valued and Multi-Valued Orientation The Unfortunate Word 'Is' – Is of Identity and Is of Predication; E –Prime Can You Tell The Difference? –Non-Verbal Phenomena, Descriptions, and Inferences Can You Imagine It? - The Role of Visualization and Context in Understanding Discourse No Bamboozlement, Please! - How to Disclose Others' Equivocation and Make Your Own Discourse Less Confusing and Easier To Understand – A Summary and Some Warnings Conclusion: Can We Go Bananas? – Discourse and Health Suggestions for Further Reading References Index