You may have heard that the Inuit have fifty or more words to describe snow:
“We [English speakers] have the same word for falling snow, snow on the ground, snow hard packed like ice, slushy snow, wind-driven snow – whatever the situation may be. To an Eskimo, this all-inclusive word would be almost unthinkable….”
Benjamin Lee Whorf, Science and Linguistics (1949)
While linguists continue to debate the finer points due to the peculiarity of the Eskimo family of languages (Inuit and Yupik being two major branches), one of the implications are clear – the ability to identify and apply meaningful distinctions is a key thing separating a specialist and a layperson in any sufficiently complex environment.
An all-inclusive word for snow is unthinkable if your life depends on being able to generate the right solutions to the different challenges created by different types of snow.
As an example from the field of business improvement, the term “pain point” is widely used (in Australia) as an all-inclusive word to identify issues that is broadly interpreted as “anything I don’t like”.
While this interpretation is helpful in interviews where the goal is to broadly capture as much raw feedback as possible, the challenge is getting from a flood of “anything I don’t like” to making meaningful distinctions: which of these pain points are actually root causes, which are only intermediate effects, which are causing undesirable effects in relation to the organisations strategic goals, which are within our span of control or influence, which are actually proposed (and potentially incorrect) solutions in disguise, etc.
It is the difference between drowning in a flood of information and successfully navigating the currents with prizes in hand.
Reference:
- David Robson, “There really are 50 Eskimo words for ‘snow'”, New Scientist (Dec 2021). Reprint by Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/there-really-are-50-eskimo-words-for-snow/2013/01/14/e0e3f4e0-59a0-11e2-beee-6e38f5215402_story.html