When we use language, it seems so easy to understand what other people are saying that it is hard to appreciate the complexity of the act of carrying on a conversation. Obviously, we miscommunicate at ...

The above figure, called the Boring Figure, is the most famous of the “ambiguous illusions,” which can be seen as two different figures, depending on how one looks at them. We’ll tell you how ...

It is well established that zoning codes and regulations are in derogation of property owners’ rights in and to the use of their property. Zoning restricts the use of land which was otherwise free of ...

Ambiguity simply means lack of clarity in construction - written or spoken. This occurs when there are two or more meanings in a passage. Ambiguity is of two basic types: Syntactic Ambiguity and ...

Peter O'Connor received funding for this research from the Australian Government and Change2020 under the Innovation Connections Scheme. Karen Becker received funding for this research from the ...

If ever the people on our planet faced uncertainty, now is that time. Only a few weeks ago, markets were at record highs. Optimism was rampant. You might have even found yourself humming “It’s a ...

For example, the following sentence lends itself to two possible interpretations: (1) Old men and women left the theater. What does “old” modify in this sentence? “Men” or “men and women”? In other ...

Creative ideas sometimes emerge because someone directly and explicitly asks us to come up with a new idea. It could be we're asked to help solve a pesky problem, or to generate suggestions for how to ...