Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski was a Polish-American independent scholar who developed a field called general semantics,which he viewed as both distinct from,and more encompassing than,the field of semantics. He argued that human knowledge of the world is limited both by the human nervous system and the languages humans have developed,and thus no one can have direct access to reality,given that the most we can know is that which is filtered through the brain's responses to reality. His best known dictum is "The map is not the territory".
General semantics is a school of thought that incorporates philosophic and scientific aspects. Although it does not stand on its own as a separate school of philosophy,a separate science,or an academic discipline,it describes itself as a scientifically empirical approach to cognition and problem solving. It has been described by nonproponents as a self-help system,and it has been criticized as having pseudoscientific aspects,but it has also been favorably viewed by various scientists as a useful set of analytical tools albeit not its own science.
Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal or an obsessive enthusiasm.
Wendell Johnson was an American psychologist,author and was a proponent of general semantics. His life work contributed greatly to speech–language pathology,particularly in understanding the area of stuttering,as Johnson himself stuttered. The Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Center at University of Iowa is named after him. Aside from his contributions to stuttering,he posthumously became known for his controversial experiment nicknamed the "Monster Study".
Michael Kevin Powell is an American attorney and lobbyist who served as the 24th chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 2001 to 2005. Since leaving office,Powell has worked as the president of the National Cable &Telecommunications Association (NCTA),a broadband industry trade association.
The fairness doctrine of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC),introduced in 1949,was a policy that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that fairly reflected differing viewpoints. In 1987,the FCC abolished the fairness doctrine,prompting some to urge its reintroduction through either Commission policy or congressional legislation. The FCC removed the rule that implemented the policy from the Federal Register in August 2011.
Newton Norman Minow was an American attorney who served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He is famous for his 1961 speech referring to television as a "vast wasteland". While still maintaining a law practice,Minow served as the Honorary Consul General of Singapore in Chicago,beginning in 2001.
Language in Thought and Action is a 1949 book on general semantics by Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa,based on his previous work Language in Action (1939). Early editions were written in consultation with different people. The 5th edition was published in 1991. It was updated by Hayakawa's son,Alan R. Hayakawa and has an introduction by Robert MacNeil. The book has sold over one million copies and has been translated into eight languages.
Insight into human symbolic behavior and into human interaction through symbolic mechanisms comes from all sorts of disciplines:not only from linguistics,philosophy,psychology,and cultural anthropology,but from attitude research and public opinion study,from new techniques in psychotherapy,from physiology and neurology,from mathematical biology and cybernetics. How are all these separate insights to be brought together? ...I have examined the problem long enough to believe that it cannot be done without some set of broad and informing principles such as is to be found in the General Semantics of Alfred Korzybski.
Mark S. Fowler served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from May 18,1981 to April 17,1987. Appointed by Ronald Reagan,he led repeal of the Fairness Doctrine and spearheaded the deregulatory trend in telecommunications policy,and was a proponent of deregulation of television stations,and radio ownership laws.
Data Smog is a 1997 book by journalist David Shenk and published by HarperCollins. It addresses the author's ideas on how the information technology revolution would shape the world,and how the large amount of data available on the Internet would make it more difficult to sift through and separate fact from fiction.
The Monster Study was a non-consensual experiment performed on 22 orphan children in Davenport,Iowa in 1939 about stuttering. It was conducted by Wendell Johnson,University of Iowa,with the physical experiment being performed by his graduate student Mary Tudor.
Kevin Werbach is an American academic,businessman and author. In 2002,he founded the Supernova Group,a technology analysis and consulting firm. Since 2004,Werbach is an Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at The Wharton School,University of Pennsylvania. He writes about business,policy,and social implications of emerging Internet and communications technologies.
Ajit Varadaraj Pai is an American lawyer who served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2017 to 2021. He has been a partner at the private-equity firm Searchlight Capital since April 2021.
Thomas Edgar Wheeler is an American businessman and former government official. A member of the Democratic Party,he served as the 31st Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
The Community of Scholars is a 1962 book about higher education by Paul Goodman with his observations on its function and proposals for its future.
Gestalt Therapy is a 1951 book that outlines an extension to psychotherapy,known as gestalt therapy,written by Fritz Perls,Ralph Hefferline,and Paul Goodman. Presented in two parts,the first introduces psychotherapeutic self-help exercises,and the second presents a theory of personality development and growth.
"Net Neutrality" is the first segment devoted to net neutrality in the United States of the HBO news satire television series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. It aired for 13 minutes on June 1,2014,as part of the fifth episode of Last Week Tonight's first season.
Michael Couzens was a communications attorney and community broadcasting advocate. Employed by the FCC in the 1970s,Couzens headed the Low Power Television Task Force which developed the rules and regulations for Low Power Television.
How to Talk Back to Your Television Set is a 1970 book by Nicholas Johnson that analyzes American television broadcasting and suggests changes.
Science and Sanity:An Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics is a 1933 philosophy book written by Alfred Korzybski. It was published by the Institute of General Semantics. It had five editions. It's considered Korzybski's magnum opus.
