# Definitional Power - Proposition By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2025-10-12 Have you ever encountered someone who insists on using precise definitions and on highlighting whenever someone misuses them? In almost all cases, these people believe they are helping you or doing the right thing. But also, in nearly all cases, these people are stupid assholes. They are assholes because they only act in their own interest and intention. Words might be the most vague-specific thing in the universe. Think of how many different things a word can mean. For example, the word "run" has over 600 definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary and has changed many times over the course of human history. Who are you to say whether I'm using the word "run" correctly? Paradoxically, somehow we still tend to understand what the other person is saying. So, suppose you are calling out my definition of a word as not aligning with yours, even though you know what I'm talking about. In that case, you are likely not doing so to clarify, but to take power and control over the other person as you see fit. This is a classic asshole move, and you can go fuck yourself. Secondly, these people are stupid, no matter their IQ. They hurt themselves and others by acting like their corrections will make things better for everyone. One might think it is a good thing for everyone to be on the same page, even if that page is one of known disagreement. Certainly, this helps, but in reality, everyone ends up disliking the definitional asshole because it's about getting on _their_ page rather than finding a new one in collaboration. This is what words and language are for. Not to make everyone exist in your definitional world like a dictator, but to find a new definition that grows as we grow in solidarity. This goes for all fields, especially the so-called technical ones, which are obsessed with definitional power. Your definitions reveal who you are, and the good ones avoid you at all costs. #### Related Items [[Words]] [[Power]] [[Assholes]] [[Stupid]] [[Solidarity]]