Some words, some words...

Ever notice how some words are very close in meaning, so much so that if they get confused no one even really knows. It’s almost as if these words convey such a distinct idea that we don’t even really care if we are using the precise word, because, after all, we understand the idea.

Consider “perspective” and “context.” These words, I think, often get used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing, of course. 

If former U.S. President Barack Obama makes a statement about climate change and that statement reflects poorly on industry, well, that might piss a lot of people off, especially people who don’t agree with Obama. However, if we really want to make an assessment of Obama’s take on climate change as it relates to industry, we really need to know, among other things, what Obama has said previously on the subject, what the current beliefs on climate change are and how Obama’s statement figures into those beliefs. That’s "context."

On to “perspective.” If Obama gets thousands of "likes" on Twitter after making his statement, it might seem as though a sea change is underway. However, if we know that no U.S. president has been able to sway Congress on matters of the environment very much after leaving office, that’s "perspective." "Perspective" is like "context," but perspective involves a little more judgment. It gives us a fuller picture of the matter as well but also places more weight on certain things than on others.

Oh, and since we’re on it, let's have a tiny chat about "significance," too.

If Obama’s remarks were similar to what other former U.S. presidents have said after leaving office, but none of those other presidents had made such wave-making remarks so quickly after having left office,  and Obama's decision to make the statement so shortly after returning to civilian life signaled a new way in which a former president can behave, then that would be "significance." Why and in what other ways were those comments important?