Unintentional intentions

Recently, I received a bowl and a pair of chopsticks as tokens. While the intention was good, the meaning of the behavior is very different in Chinese culture. I have learned that those items are symbols of death. While the gesture is quite simple, the underlying dynamics is somewhat a little bit complicated. There are two components going on simultaneously, Behavior and Intention.

Behavior can be defined as:

Human behavior is the collection of activities performed by human beings(highlight included for emphasis) and influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, and/or coercion…The behavior of people (and other organisms or even mechanisms) falls within a range with some behavior being common, some unusual, some acceptable, and some outside acceptable limits. In sociology, (highlight included for emphasis)behavior is considered as having no meaning, being not directed at other people and thus is the most basic human action. Behavior should not be mistaken with social behavior, which is more advanced action, as social behavior is behavior specifically directed at other people. The acceptability of behavior is evaluated relative to social norms and regulated by various means of social control (from Wikipeda).

Intention is defined as:

An agent’s intention in performing an action is their specific purpose in doing so, the end or goal they aim at, or intend to accomplish. Whether an action is successful or unsuccessful depends at least on whether the intended result was brought about. Other consequences of someone’s acting are called unintentional. Intentional behavior can also be just thoughtful and deliberate goal-directedness (from Wikipeda).

The act of giving me the tokens did not mean anything in its purest sense. But when I evaluate the intention behind it, I have to refer to my cognitive schemas whether it was appropriate or not. While it may have violated some cultural norms, it may not actually be the case. There is a need to consider the context where it is happening. In this case the intention was good. But if I failed to understand the intention behind the behavior, I would interpret that as, may be they want me dead. But this is not the case here. The behavior can be construed to be unintentional.

There are many instances where relationships have been broken, or resulted to communication gaps, because of the lack of understanding about certain behaviors. We tend to assume quickly without enough understanding and information about the situation. There is a need discern the reason behind such actions.

About this page

The G-Spot is an evidence of linguistic evolution. It was coined by a co-worker named Brenda (Brain + Damage = Brenda; ai in brain merged = e (contraction); and damage = “da” law of economy) who was challenged by the pronunciation of my last name “GOBUNQUIN.” So she decided to shorten it to “G” thus it became The G-Spot. Why not? It sounds hot, huh?

GOBUNQUIN was  drived linguistically and historically, from my Great Grandfather’s fullname from China, “Gao, Bun Quin” (sorry can’t write Chinese Characters). It later eveolved into its present form due to the  English Alphabet.