Ambiguity
Ambiguity arises when a statement, object or event does not suggest a clear and obvious interpretation.
When operating machinery or performing surgery, ambiguity of instruction can be fatal.
In certain domains — most notably mathematics, logic and programming — ambiguities are ruthlessly identified and removed.
Surgeons and logicians are understandably wary of ambiguity, yet there is a tolerance of ambiguity in most everyday communication.
An ambiguous utterance can have different causes, including but not limited to:
- Limited understanding of a topic
- Poor mastery of the language
- Undisciplined speech
In such cases, ambiguity emerges involuntarily. Over time, someone may transition to a different level of understanding, mastery or tiredness, resulting in greater or lesser levels of ambiguity.
While this demands sensitivity from us socially, it is perhaps the less interesting case as far as ambiguity is concerned.
Sometimes ambiguity can be cultivated as part of a deliberate act, consider:
- Ambiguity as a strategy in conflict management
- Ambiguity as a device in the arts
- Ambiguity as an affordance in recipes
- Ambiguity in romantic flirtation
- Ambiguity as a defence against persecution
- Ambiguity in shaping our personal identity
Here, the expansion of possible interpretations afforded by ambiguity is a positive. Wielded knowingly, ambiguity offers everything from protection to agency and excitement.
Even in a strict, methodical discipline like science, ambiguity can be understood as an essential stage of that activity. Ambiguity is a "problem" in the sense of puzzle, not in the sense of aberration.
Any scientific discovery begins with an ambiguity: a phenomenon that admits of multiple possible interpretations. This prompts the scientist to seek the most likely interpretation.
A great scientist seeks an ambiguity with as much vigour as when they seek to resolve that ambiguity.
It is unreasonable to expect there to be no ambiguity in daily life. While there are specific cases where ambiguity is not optimal or safe, a completely unambiguous reality would be a very dull place.
We can't expect a poem to be a proof, a war to be a flatpack, a person to be a lever.
Tell all the truth but tell it slant
— Emily Dickinson
Add seasoning to taste
— anon