Education is a beautiful thing but only in the many ways it can be used to free the oppressed and further a better purpose.
Today’s lesson for me has to do with a definition I think I need to clearly examine.
Obfuscate. Never heard this word? Sure you have, you just didn’t realize its meaning or the many ways you have been exposed to its influence already. A better definition might be …to make so confused or opaque (I know, another word not often used, just think milky water) as to be difficult to perceive or understand. How about…to render indistinct or dim (darkened)?
Yeah, kind of thought you’d know its meaning. Now think “obscure”! Hidden right? So now that you know what a word means, will you look at a newspaper or t.v. news story with an educated eye? How about the “googled” news story or email you just downloaded? I only ask because I use words myself and I love the many ways I can hide a meaning in what I write.
Just being honest folks….or would you rather I obfuscate what I’m saying?
Obfuscation is a term commonly used in programming. It implies ‘hidden in plain site’. It is commonly used in software code that is written in such a way that it’s meaning or function is ‘obfuscated’, or near impossible to decypher its meaning simply by looking at it. I agree with your assessment that a lot of shady things happen in the media that are ‘hidden in plain site’, or ‘obfuscated’ with distracting forms of news.