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SO MANY gaps but few definitions, one can say. We tend to talk about all the gaps; we actually fight about them because we don’t share the same definitions or can’t agree on them.
Let us take some everyday examples.
Many (most?) arguments relate to money; some of us don’t agree right at the start about the definition of money. For instance, is today’s money real or not?
But let us just say money is the commodity that you use to pay for things and that you normally have to get that money from some effort or activity.
If we succeed in that, we still have to define a host of gaps and things related to money. I will mention only the most common ones; please note that I am not going to define them at this time.
In money we have an Income Gap, a Wage Gap, an Earnings Gap, a so-called Gender Gap, a Salary Gap, a Wealth Gap and the obvious natural Currency Gap. Every single one of these items is vastly different to the others and needs to be defined in the context of its situation.
Let me throw some confusion around. Wealth in India, America, Russia, and China (I can go on and on) is simply not the same, firstly because of currencies but also because it depends on the Education Gap, the Experience Gap, the Effort Gap and the Productivity Gap - before you can even mention a probable definition of Wealth.
Money isn't everything
Money alone cannot make you wealthy; the poor man may be rich in knowledge, practical experience, in his family life and personal standing in his community.
Allow me a silly one. Way back in the days of our youth, a silly boxing promoter saw a lot of money in a seven foot tall guy named Ewald Potgieter and talked him into the ring. Poor Ewald won a few bouts with his four foot long arms and then every little guy hit his brains out.
What I am saying is that there is another natural gap; some call it the Equality Gap and others name it the Inequality Gap. That’s a lot of nonsense, as is proved by the case of Ewald the boxer. There is a vast gap between a seven foot and a five foot six guy in the boxing ring or outside it; leave out the nonsense of race, gender, or all the other things.
Let us without further ado conclude with the growing Communication Gap. Information, Technology and the Media are supposed to bridge the Communication Gap to make it easier for us to understand each other, to enhance Education and Knowledge. Yes, and that is what they do, you will say.
No, you are wrong if you think that is the case. There is an article running right now on a feud (some say) in the media about who owns or should own some small local news media group. The media is used to divide instead of uniting us.
What's your take?
Go ahead, don’t let me handle it all alone; write your articles about all the gaps and send them in to the editor.
Somebody said to me many years ago that a good statistician must learn how to read the bottom line.
Please define and include your definitions; they are the bottom line for any debate to bring us together, or at least assist us to narrow the gaps of divide.
- Fin24
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Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyFin24 have been independently written by members of the Fin24 community. The views of users published on Fin24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent those of Fin24.
