You've heard the phrase "try not to think about an elephant." It is impossible to achieve, because the word elephant implants that concept in our heads, despite the word "not" that we understand. Understanding that negative word in context and obeying the sentence is two very different things, and artificial intelligence has not mastered the idea of negation. It's a good thing that humans can separate uncontrolled thoughts from controlled actions, because we can draw a room without putting an elephant in it -and even when it's there, we can ignore it. But maybe that's taking the elephant analogy too far.
Dr. Erica Brozovski explains negation and the words we use for it in English. We don't always use these words correctly, but we understand them and we can usually parse what someone is saying to us even when the words are misused, as in double and triple negatives.
Sunday, April 06, 2025
Language Negation
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Technically, the best way not to think of "an elephant" is to focus on something else, without elephant referents, like making a cheeseburger. Because, you're right, psychology recognizes that, to "not think of an elephant" you have to kind-of check in "what am I not supposed to think ofOH DAMN". So your only real method is to get your brain completely focused on something else, until you've completely forgotten the instruction.
Of course, I believe the origin of the idea is, a man sells a flying carpet, and refuses to say what could make the carpet fall. "It's better if you don't know," he explains, until pressed, admits that the carpet will cease to function if you think of an elephant, and, of course, the new owner soon plunged to a painful death, which isn't funny, even if you do read it in a Monty Python narrator's voice!
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