Re slide 20: I recall reading that it's a myth that people who use the word "I" a lot are particularly self-absorbed. I recall it being suggested that the opposite might even be the case, perhaps because people were acknowledging the subjectivity of their opinions rather than presuming to present an indisputable statement of truth. I would look for a link, but the word "I" is hard to google.
It especially doesn't make sense because the usage of the word "I" in English is mostly because English is quite verbose.
Specifically, in most cases it's expected that you specify the subject of a sentence, which happens to be yourself a lot of the time. There's no such expectation in Japanese for example.
> acknowledging the subjectivity of their opinions rather than presuming to present an indisputable statement of truth.
I actually try hard to use I wherever possible for that particular reason. Saying "I think a message-passing style would be best for this" is more honest than "a message-passing style would be best for this".
I don't agree with this because whenever you write something it becomes obvious that it is your opinion, even if it shared by other people. If it is somebody else's opinion and not yours, you would naturally say "somebody else's said ..." If you want to emphasize that is just not your opinion, you can also say so. It is much more cumbersome to keep adding "I think" when it is implicit in the context.
When you're the boss, your opinions are often interpreted as decrees. Tempering your tone with qualifiers is necessary to get others to share their opinions honestly.
Comments
Re slide 20: I recall reading that it's a myth that people who use the word "I" a lot are particularly self-absorbed. I recall it being suggested that the opposite might even be the case, perhaps because people were acknowledging the subjectivity of their opinions rather than presuming to present an indisputable statement of truth. I would look for a link, but the word "I" is hard to google.
Edit: I might be thinking of this, or something like it: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-your-use-of-the-wor...
It especially doesn't make sense because the usage of the word "I" in English is mostly because English is quite verbose.
Specifically, in most cases it's expected that you specify the subject of a sentence, which happens to be yourself a lot of the time. There's no such expectation in Japanese for example.
> acknowledging the subjectivity of their opinions rather than presuming to present an indisputable statement of truth.
I actually try hard to use I wherever possible for that particular reason. Saying "I think a message-passing style would be best for this" is more honest than "a message-passing style would be best for this".
I don't agree with this because whenever you write something it becomes obvious that it is your opinion, even if it shared by other people. If it is somebody else's opinion and not yours, you would naturally say "somebody else's said ..." If you want to emphasize that is just not your opinion, you can also say so. It is much more cumbersome to keep adding "I think" when it is implicit in the context.
When you're the boss, your opinions are often interpreted as decrees. Tempering your tone with qualifiers is necessary to get others to share their opinions honestly.