Now I'm not talking about obscure, unfamiliar words like prolegomenon or ephidrosis or even hydrophthalmic. I'm talking about words that we use all the time, common words. Words that we hear and read everywhere. 

Let's start with the word “information.” We talk about the information super-highway. We say that ultimately the universe is made up not of matter but of information. We talk about being informed or uninformed. And that we now live in the information age. So tell me, taken in context, what does the word “information” mean? 

Then there's the word “energy.” We talk about the sun being a source of energy. People who run out of energy. We talk about some machine being able to generate X-units of energy per minute. OK, so what's energy? 

How about the word “life.” Charley is the life of the party. Mary lives a miserable life. George has a life-threatening illness. Helen has put new life into her marriage. Bill has overcome alcoholism so he can now get on with his life. The hills are alive with the sound of music. Now can anyone tell me what the word “life” means? 

The point of this whole exercise in the obvious meaninglessness of many common words is the idea advanced by Wendell Johnson many decades ago when he wrote a book entitled, “Your Most Enchanted Listener.” And, of course, he meant each of us. You see, each of us talks more to him- or herself than to anyone else. By far. And I don't mean silently. I mean aloud. Face-to-face. 

Which is OK as long as you're aware of it. But if you're not, you're in for some hard times dealing with other people. Because you think you're communicating with them. You're not. You're communicating only with yourself. 

Think about it.