Mixing
Which word is “they” referring to?
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That’s just our minds doing the job they were designed to do: trying
to anticipate and solve problems and avoid potential pitfalls.
Which word is “they” referring to? Our minds or "thoughts and feelings
that include criticism, doubt, and fear"(which is mentioned in the previous sentence)?
Also I can't get the point. So, Could you please explain the sentence to me?
The fuller text is:
The prevailing wisdom says that difficult thoughts and feelings have
no place at the office: Executives, and particularly leaders, should
be either stoic or cheerful; they must project confidence and damp
down any negativity bubbling up inside them. But that goes against
basic biology. All healthy human beings have an inner stream of
thoughts and feelings that include criticism, doubt, and fear. That’s
just our minds doing the job they were designed to do: trying to
anticipate and solve problems and avoid potential pitfalls.
https://hbr.org/2013/11/emotional-agility
meaning
edited Feb 2 at 16:43
re_nez
4977
asked Feb 2 at 16:38
PeacePeace
2,36831943
add a comment |
That’s just our minds doing the job they were designed to do: trying
to anticipate and solve problems and avoid potential pitfalls.
Which word is “they” referring to? Our minds or "thoughts and feelings
that include criticism, doubt, and fear"(which is mentioned in the previous sentence)?
Also I can't get the point. So, Could you please explain the sentence to me?
The fuller text is:
The prevailing wisdom says that difficult thoughts and feelings have
no place at the office: Executives, and particularly leaders, should
be either stoic or cheerful; they must project confidence and damp
down any negativity bubbling up inside them. But that goes against
basic biology. All healthy human beings have an inner stream of
thoughts and feelings that include criticism, doubt, and fear. That’s
just our minds doing the job they were designed to do: trying to
anticipate and solve problems and avoid potential pitfalls.
https://hbr.org/2013/11/emotional-agility
meaning
edited Feb 2 at 16:43
re_nez
4977
asked Feb 2 at 16:38
PeacePeace
2,36831943
add a comment |
That’s just our minds doing the job they were designed to do: trying
to anticipate and solve problems and avoid potential pitfalls.
Which word is “they” referring to? Our minds or "thoughts and feelings
that include criticism, doubt, and fear"(which is mentioned in the previous sentence)?
Also I can't get the point. So, Could you please explain the sentence to me?
The fuller text is:
The prevailing wisdom says that difficult thoughts and feelings have
no place at the office: Executives, and particularly leaders, should
be either stoic or cheerful; they must project confidence and damp
down any negativity bubbling up inside them. But that goes against
basic biology. All healthy human beings have an inner stream of
thoughts and feelings that include criticism, doubt, and fear. That’s
just our minds doing the job they were designed to do: trying to
anticipate and solve problems and avoid potential pitfalls.
https://hbr.org/2013/11/emotional-agility
meaning
edited Feb 2 at 16:43
re_nez
4977
asked Feb 2 at 16:38
PeacePeace
2,36831943
That’s just our minds doing the job they were designed to do: trying
to anticipate and solve problems and avoid potential pitfalls.
Which word is “they” referring to? Our minds or "thoughts and feelings
that include criticism, doubt, and fear"(which is mentioned in the previous sentence)?
Also I can't get the point. So, Could you please explain the sentence to me?
The fuller text is:
The prevailing wisdom says that difficult thoughts and feelings have
no place at the office: Executives, and particularly leaders, should
be either stoic or cheerful; they must project confidence and damp
down any negativity bubbling up inside them. But that goes against
basic biology. All healthy human beings have an inner stream of
thoughts and feelings that include criticism, doubt, and fear. That’s
just our minds doing the job they were designed to do: trying to
anticipate and solve problems and avoid potential pitfalls.
https://hbr.org/2013/11/emotional-agility
meaning
meaning
edited Feb 2 at 16:43
re_nez
4977
asked Feb 2 at 16:38
PeacePeace
2,36831943
edited Feb 2 at 16:43
re_nez
4977
asked Feb 2 at 16:38
PeacePeace
2,36831943
edited Feb 2 at 16:43
re_nez
4977
edited Feb 2 at 16:43
re_nez
4977
edited Feb 2 at 16:43
re_nez
4977
4977
asked Feb 2 at 16:38
PeacePeace
2,36831943
asked Feb 2 at 16:38
PeacePeace
2,36831943
asked Feb 2 at 16:38
PeacePeace
2,36831943
2,36831943
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
They is referring to our minds. The sentence means that:
all healthy human beings have an inner stream of thoughts and feelings that include criticism and this is just what our minds were meant to do/
answered Feb 2 at 16:41
TNoTNo
1,602118
add a comment |
As a purely standalone sentence, the only thing that they can be referring to is our minds because there is nothing else in the sentence that comes before it that's plural: they can't be referencing that nor can it be referencing the job because both of those things are singular:
That’s just our minds doing the job they were designed to do . . .
However, with more context, the use of they in exactly the same sentence could refer to something else.
For example, consider this fictional context:
We developed telekinesis and were able to move those objects around that we'd designed robots for in the past. That's just our minds doing the job they were designed to do.
Here, it's more likely that they doesn't actually refer to our minds but to our robots instead. (Because of the specific correlation of designed.)
This just highlights that context can be very important—and that exactly the same sentence can mean something different when it comes after something else.
In your particular passage, however, there is nothing that makes a different interpretation more likely than the original: they is still almost certainly referring to our minds.
Note that in the previous sentence this is the noun you were questioning:
an inner stream of thoughts and feelings that include criticism, doubt, and fear
The actual noun is singular, not plural. Although they could be used mistakenly to refer to it, if we assume that it is being used correctly, then it is not. Otherwise the pronoun used would be it.
That’s just our minds doing the job this inner stream of thoughts and feelings was designed to do . . .
Or:
That’s just our minds doing the job it was designed to do . . .
answered Feb 2 at 18:02
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
17.8k22440
I'd say even in your contrived example, "they" is ambiguous at best, and most people would still assume it referred to "minds" because it's the most recent candidate.
– Kat
Feb 2 at 21:06
add a comment |
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
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oldest
votes
They is referring to our minds. The sentence means that:
all healthy human beings have an inner stream of thoughts and feelings that include criticism and this is just what our minds were meant to do/
answered Feb 2 at 16:41
TNoTNo
1,602118
add a comment |
They is referring to our minds. The sentence means that:
all healthy human beings have an inner stream of thoughts and feelings that include criticism and this is just what our minds were meant to do/
answered Feb 2 at 16:41
TNoTNo
1,602118
add a comment |
They is referring to our minds. The sentence means that:
all healthy human beings have an inner stream of thoughts and feelings that include criticism and this is just what our minds were meant to do/
answered Feb 2 at 16:41
TNoTNo
1,602118
They is referring to our minds. The sentence means that:
all healthy human beings have an inner stream of thoughts and feelings that include criticism and this is just what our minds were meant to do/
answered Feb 2 at 16:41
TNoTNo
1,602118
answered Feb 2 at 16:41
TNoTNo
1,602118
answered Feb 2 at 16:41
TNoTNo
1,602118
answered Feb 2 at 16:41
TNoTNo
1,602118
1,602118
add a comment |
add a comment |
As a purely standalone sentence, the only thing that they can be referring to is our minds because there is nothing else in the sentence that comes before it that's plural: they can't be referencing that nor can it be referencing the job because both of those things are singular:
That’s just our minds doing the job they were designed to do . . .
However, with more context, the use of they in exactly the same sentence could refer to something else.
For example, consider this fictional context:
We developed telekinesis and were able to move those objects around that we'd designed robots for in the past. That's just our minds doing the job they were designed to do.
Here, it's more likely that they doesn't actually refer to our minds but to our robots instead. (Because of the specific correlation of designed.)
This just highlights that context can be very important—and that exactly the same sentence can mean something different when it comes after something else.
In your particular passage, however, there is nothing that makes a different interpretation more likely than the original: they is still almost certainly referring to our minds.
Note that in the previous sentence this is the noun you were questioning:
an inner stream of thoughts and feelings that include criticism, doubt, and fear
The actual noun is singular, not plural. Although they could be used mistakenly to refer to it, if we assume that it is being used correctly, then it is not. Otherwise the pronoun used would be it.
That’s just our minds doing the job this inner stream of thoughts and feelings was designed to do . . .
Or:
That’s just our minds doing the job it was designed to do . . .
answered Feb 2 at 18:02
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
17.8k22440
I'd say even in your contrived example, "they" is ambiguous at best, and most people would still assume it referred to "minds" because it's the most recent candidate.
– Kat
Feb 2 at 21:06
add a comment |
As a purely standalone sentence, the only thing that they can be referring to is our minds because there is nothing else in the sentence that comes before it that's plural: they can't be referencing that nor can it be referencing the job because both of those things are singular:
That’s just our minds doing the job they were designed to do . . .
However, with more context, the use of they in exactly the same sentence could refer to something else.
For example, consider this fictional context:
We developed telekinesis and were able to move those objects around that we'd designed robots for in the past. That's just our minds doing the job they were designed to do.
Here, it's more likely that they doesn't actually refer to our minds but to our robots instead. (Because of the specific correlation of designed.)
This just highlights that context can be very important—and that exactly the same sentence can mean something different when it comes after something else.
In your particular passage, however, there is nothing that makes a different interpretation more likely than the original: they is still almost certainly referring to our minds.
Note that in the previous sentence this is the noun you were questioning:
an inner stream of thoughts and feelings that include criticism, doubt, and fear
The actual noun is singular, not plural. Although they could be used mistakenly to refer to it, if we assume that it is being used correctly, then it is not. Otherwise the pronoun used would be it.
That’s just our minds doing the job this inner stream of thoughts and feelings was designed to do . . .
Or:
That’s just our minds doing the job it was designed to do . . .
answered Feb 2 at 18:02
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
17.8k22440
I'd say even in your contrived example, "they" is ambiguous at best, and most people would still assume it referred to "minds" because it's the most recent candidate.
– Kat
Feb 2 at 21:06
add a comment |
As a purely standalone sentence, the only thing that they can be referring to is our minds because there is nothing else in the sentence that comes before it that's plural: they can't be referencing that nor can it be referencing the job because both of those things are singular:
That’s just our minds doing the job they were designed to do . . .
However, with more context, the use of they in exactly the same sentence could refer to something else.
For example, consider this fictional context:
We developed telekinesis and were able to move those objects around that we'd designed robots for in the past. That's just our minds doing the job they were designed to do.
Here, it's more likely that they doesn't actually refer to our minds but to our robots instead. (Because of the specific correlation of designed.)
This just highlights that context can be very important—and that exactly the same sentence can mean something different when it comes after something else.
In your particular passage, however, there is nothing that makes a different interpretation more likely than the original: they is still almost certainly referring to our minds.
Note that in the previous sentence this is the noun you were questioning:
an inner stream of thoughts and feelings that include criticism, doubt, and fear
The actual noun is singular, not plural. Although they could be used mistakenly to refer to it, if we assume that it is being used correctly, then it is not. Otherwise the pronoun used would be it.
That’s just our minds doing the job this inner stream of thoughts and feelings was designed to do . . .
Or:
That’s just our minds doing the job it was designed to do . . .
answered Feb 2 at 18:02
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
17.8k22440
As a purely standalone sentence, the only thing that they can be referring to is our minds because there is nothing else in the sentence that comes before it that's plural: they can't be referencing that nor can it be referencing the job because both of those things are singular:
That’s just our minds doing the job they were designed to do . . .
However, with more context, the use of they in exactly the same sentence could refer to something else.
For example, consider this fictional context:
We developed telekinesis and were able to move those objects around that we'd designed robots for in the past. That's just our minds doing the job they were designed to do.
Here, it's more likely that they doesn't actually refer to our minds but to our robots instead. (Because of the specific correlation of designed.)
This just highlights that context can be very important—and that exactly the same sentence can mean something different when it comes after something else.
In your particular passage, however, there is nothing that makes a different interpretation more likely than the original: they is still almost certainly referring to our minds.
Note that in the previous sentence this is the noun you were questioning:
an inner stream of thoughts and feelings that include criticism, doubt, and fear
The actual noun is singular, not plural. Although they could be used mistakenly to refer to it, if we assume that it is being used correctly, then it is not. Otherwise the pronoun used would be it.
That’s just our minds doing the job this inner stream of thoughts and feelings was designed to do . . .
Or:
That’s just our minds doing the job it was designed to do . . .
answered Feb 2 at 18:02
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
17.8k22440
edited Feb 2 at 18:07
answered Feb 2 at 18:02
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
17.8k22440
answered Feb 2 at 18:02
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
17.8k22440
answered Feb 2 at 18:02
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
17.8k22440
17.8k22440
I'd say even in your contrived example, "they" is ambiguous at best, and most people would still assume it referred to "minds" because it's the most recent candidate.
– Kat
Feb 2 at 21:06
add a comment |
I'd say even in your contrived example, "they" is ambiguous at best, and most people would still assume it referred to "minds" because it's the most recent candidate.
– Kat
Feb 2 at 21:06
I'd say even in your contrived example, "they" is ambiguous at best, and most people would still assume it referred to "minds" because it's the most recent candidate.
– Kat
Feb 2 at 21:06
I'd say even in your contrived example, "they" is ambiguous at best, and most people would still assume it referred to "minds" because it's the most recent candidate.
– Kat
Feb 2 at 21:06
add a comment |
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