he relay of ideas from one mind to another mind or minds depends upon words, symbols, sounds, pictures, emotions and past associations.
Primary amongst these, in any developed culture, are words. These can be written or spoken.
While whole subjects exist concerning the development and meaning of words, all of them very learned and worthwhile, practically no work was ever done on the effect of words or the consequences of their misuse or noncomprehension. This is the sphere of Word Clearing.
What has not been studied previously or known is that the flow of ideas in any message or field of learning can be blocked in such a way as to suppress further understanding or comprehension from that point on. Further, the misunderstood word can even act in such a way as to bring about ignorance, apathy and even revolt. And it will definitely depress productivity.
Not only did these things remain undiscovered but also, of course, no technology existed to remedy them.
The discoveries and their remedies comprise the subject called Word Clearing. It is part of a broader field known as Study Technology, but in itself Word Clearing has many uses and applications.
There has been a deterioration in scholarly literacy since the nineteenth century. This has been obscured by the fact that more people can read and write today than a hundred years ago. But an examination of what was read and written then compared to what is read and written now even by scholars shows a very steep decline. Compare the political speeches and literature of a hundred or even fifty years ago to those of today and the general decay of language will become evident. Even the common vocabulary appears to have shrunk.
Earlier, noticing that the public was more and more dependent upon radio, motion pictures and television, all of which contain the spoken word, I observed the possibility that these messages were not being fully received or understood by the public. Recently, this was confirmed by a survey undertaken by an advertising association which found that from one quarter to one third of the television material of all kinds was misunderstood by the audience. The study was undertaken apparently to combat charges of misleading advertising. But it has other applications. It means, for instance, that one quarter to one third of these huge advertising expenditures are wasted. And it means more than that: these misunderstoods can easily generate antipathy and even aggression and a revolutionary attitude.
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