Nuance and Substance

Photo by Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash

 

nu·ance

  (no͞o′äns′, nyo͞o′-, no͞o-äns′, nyo͞o-)

n.

1. A subtle or slight degree of difference, as in meaning, feeling, or tone; a gradation.

2. Expression or appreciation of subtle shades of meaning, feeling, or tone: a rich artistic performance, full of nuance.

tr.v. nu·anced, nu·anc·ing, nu·anc·es

To treat or consider with nuance; give nuances to: new information that nuanced their understanding of the situation.

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[French, from Old French, from nuer, to shade, cloud, from nue, cloud, from Vulgar Latin *nūba, from Latin nūbēs.]

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nu′ancedadj.

Synonyms:nuance, gradation, shade
These nouns denote a slight variation or differentiation between nearly identical entities: sensitive to delicate nuances of style; gradations of feeling from infatuation to deep affection; subtle shades of meaning.

 

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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No. I did not watch the State of the Union. I was on an Amtrak bus and the internet was poor. I read most of it later.

 

Then, I read the social media posts and none surprised me. They were rather lock-step with the presuppositions of those who could have prepared them before the event. No minds were changed, swayed, moved, nor convinced.

 

That is the state of our union: disunion. 

 

It is also the state of our national conversation, a dearth of substance and an absence of nuance.

 

We ascertain the intentions of those who deliver information and then decide if what we are about to receive is authentic, fake, or tilted. Few of us are interested in information for the sake of information. Information has become ammunition.

 

If you are an accomplished eavesdropper with a passion for ideas, Peets Coffee in Westwood Village at UCLA is the place to be at 6:30 A.M. on a Tuesday.

 

A stream of consciousness conversation beginning with macroeconomics in light of the State of the Union speech touching to the tension between free enterprise and regulation, in light of the mood swings of the populace, the outbreak of new viral threats with immunization, and two or three latest books is riveting.

 

I cannot tell what these two old professors are professors of, but they profess something and grasp far more of the subtleties of the dialogue than most folks.

 

Meanwhile America is more concerned with who snubbed whose handshake, who showed up, who stood, who sat, who clapped, and who tore up what paper.

 

Style over substance.

 

Reactions across America are rather predictable and predictably non-nuanced.

 

Daily.

 

Issue by issue.

 

But in this cafe, nuance and substance are the topics and I find that refreshing.

 

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By the way, listening further, I think they are economists.

 

An economist is someone who observes:

 

An economist returns to visit his old school. He's interested in the current exam questions and asks his old professor to show some. To his surprise they are exactly the same ones to which he had answered 10 years ago! When he asks about this the professor answers: "the questions are always the same - only the answers change!"

 

More here.

 

And by the way, they seem surprisingly interesting, good humored, relaxed, and ordinary for geniuses.

 

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sub·stance

  (sŭb′stəns)

n.

1.

a. That which has mass and occupies space; matter.

b. A material of a particular kind or constitution.

c. A drug, chemical, or other material (such as glue) that one is dependent on or uses habitually and that is often illegal or subject to government regulation: Which substance was he abusing?

2. The most important part or idea of what is said or written; the essence or gist: the substance of the report.

3.

a. That which is real or practical in quality or character; practical value: a plan without substance.

b. Significance or importance: Did he accomplish anything of substance?

4. Density; body: Air has little substance.

5. Material possessions; goods; wealth: a person of substance.

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[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin substantia, from substāns, substant-, present participle of substāre, to be present : sub-, sub- + stāre, to stand; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: substance², core, gist, purport
These nouns denote the essential import or significance of something spoken or written: the substance of his complaint; the core of a scientific article; the gist of her argument; the purport of a document.

 

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

 

And now, a piece by "The Subtle Composer,"  Éric Alfred Leslie Satie