in which humans learn-- a combination of mimicry and reaction to stimuli. In.
childhood, we learn to mimic those around us, and thereby assimilate.
ourselves to our world. After early childhood, we learn to make judgements.
about the actions of others that we have or have not mimicked, and in doing.
so take one of the first steps in defining our identity-- we find our.
"niche." A niche, in this context, is best defined as a group of relatively.
like-minded individuals, that is, individuals who react to societal stimuli.
in much the same way that we do. Discourse, I believe, is at the root of all.
stimuli to which we are exposed. Loosely speaking, the definition of.
discourse is "everything that is written or said (and thereby understood).
about a particular subject." Discourse, then, is an all-encompasing term.
that can almost be substituted for the term "stimuli" I have employed up to.
this point (where post-childhood development is concerned). The.
post-childhood judgements we make about our world and our peers, then, can.
only be made within the context of our particular society's discourse- this.
is our source of input, and this input, in turn, determines our output.
(identity).
The old "computer nerd" saying, "garbage in, garbage out," has frequently.
been used when describing this phenomenon of input-output; it is often cited.
by concerned American parents, for instance, who worry about violent video.
games and television shows. In a computer, it certainly is that simple. I.
think, however, that the people who apply a statement about a binary system.
to something as intricate as the human brain (or "mind", take your pick),.
are making a grave mistake. My argument is a revised version of the "garbage.
in, garbage out" cliche, and would read something like "garbage in,.
something out (garbage-like or non-garbage-like to varying extents).".
If societal discourse (input) is so critical to identity (output), then the.
