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3 min read THE GREY ZONE

Language as a weapon and the danger of "jargon", as defined by Alex Karp (Palantir's CEO)

Language as a weapon and the danger of "jargon", as defined by Alex Karp (Palantir's CEO)

Language is the most powerful tool humans have ever created.

It is also the most dangerous.

From intelligence operations to corporate politics, from spiritual dogma to media warfare, words shape perception, and perception shapes reality.

To name something = to frame it, isolate it, define its contours and make it manipulable.

As Albert Camus said:

"Mal nommer les choses, c'est ajouter au malheur du monde."
To misname things is to deepen the misery of the world.

Why? Because language is NEVER innocent.

It guides perception, constructs categories, and produces exclusions. A poorly chosen word can distort reality, hide suffering, or justify violence.

The illusion of control

Western civilization worships language. We believe that to speak of something is to understand it. That to describe it is to master it. So... we name, we codify.

But describing is not truth.

The more we speak, the more we believe we are in control.

But often, the opposite is true.

Language can trap us. In ideology. In narratives. In false dichotomies. In identities that were never ours to begin with.

We build meaning through words, but those same words become cages. We mistake the map for the territory.