Long-time readers know we’re nutty about Legos here at the house of Mombian.
I was intrigued, therefore, by an article in The Morning News (via Make) in which author Giles Turnbull discusses Lego terminology. Different families, it seems, have different names for each of the little pieces, usually driven by what the children call them. A “two-er hole-y bit” could also be called a “connector, a “double cannon,” or a “two-studded slotty piece,” to cite just a few examples.
When an outsider comes into the picture, translation is necessary:
“Can you see any clippy bits?” my son asked his friend. The friend was flummoxed. “Do you mean handy bits?” he asked, pointing.
Communication—and creation—becomes difficult without standard terminology. It occurs to me that therein lies one of the major reasons for full marriage equality. It cuts across the many meanings of civil unions, domestic partnerships, civil partnerships, and such and gives us a common language with which to discuss one of the fundamental components of our society. (In this case, however, the number of studs and holes is irrelevant).
“Lego nomenclature is essential for family Lego building,” Turnbull asserts.
Family nomenclature is essential for society building, I would add.
Another way of looking at it is to observe that Lego users don’t seem fight about what terminology to use. A brief conversation convinces them that they’re using different names for the same reality.
Of course, they probably don’t talk about “clippy bits” in the Lego factory (which I would dearly love to see someday). Maybe it’s not when individual people talk, but when legislation and bureaucracies are involved, that we really need the shared vocabulary.