Speculate:
To meditate on or ponder a subject, reflect;
To review something idly or casually and often inconclusively
[Merriam-Webster]
As I perused an article recently I had to smile. Not only had the writer tackled a variety of important issues—the pandemic, the economy, the vaccine debate, who will be our next president, and so forth—they had done so in a way that really didn’t lend a lot of clarity to a clearer understanding of these concerns or how they might be resolved. With all due respect to the individual who had likely spent a fair amount of time creating the piece, the saving grace may have been the multiple uses of the word speculate in various forms.
Now please know I have nothing against this writer and what they wrote. After all, I did read it, and that is likely far more important to the author than anything else. What caught my attention, however, were two things: a] the comment early on they were speculating; and b] they did not have the answers or gift-wrapped conclusions. How refreshing to have that kind of honesty and openness!
Word nerd that I am, I had to do a little investigation. What exactly does it mean to speculate? While the term is commonplace in the world of finance, it was interesting to discover that the above two phrases in the list of descriptions.
To meditate on or ponder a subject, reflect.
Viewed from this perspective, the idea of speculate as meditate, ponder or reflect was not something I would have initially considered. To me, those terms are more indicative of a spiritual practice. Or, at least of a process whereby the “speculator” is thoughtfully giving meaningful and serious time to the subject[s] matter at hand in cooperation with the Divine.
To review something idly or casually and often inconclusively
Oh, how easy it is for us to adopt this approach. With anything. And everything. Now the reality is not all issues and concerns are in need of hours of meditation, pondering, or reflection. On the other hand, this feels a whole lot like an exercise in superficiality. Why?
If we’re talking about the quality of the eggplant at the market, this might be an entirely appropriate attitude—idle, casual, or inconclusive. On the other hand, if I need to solve a specific problem or resolve an issue, I need to gather specific, reliable information then pray, mediate, ponder, and reflect.
A couple of takeaways . . .
When we review something idly or casually we need to be aware our knowledge, insight, and wisdom are limited, either by the material at hand, or the time we are willing to spend digging for the specifics and the facts.
Secondly, I’m not suggesting we ‘go back’ to the days of the tiny print journalism that made for the fat newspapers we found on our morning doorstep. Or that we need to spend all our free time watching or listening to news feeds until our eyes glaze over.
What I am suggesting is the importance of being clear, sooner rather than later, about what we hope to communicate. If we’re being inconclusive for whatever reason—we don’t have all the facts, we want to express a personal perspective, we hope to overwhelm or distract our audience with an effusive display of language and ideas—we need to be clear that’s what we’re doing.
To speculate or not, to mediate or review idly, is not about a right way or a wrong way.
Rather, to speculate with purpose is to know which of these definitions apply in any given moment.
Do I speculate? On what?
What do I hope to accomplish?
