Five forms of ‘not understanding’.

The first is usually false. This is when one compares some favored model or expectation to experience and finds experience lacking the expected features or relationships. This is a childish sort of insistence often found in statements containing an equivalent of the phrase ‘supposed to”. As in: something is supposed to be or not be some way or in some state. It can be justifiable, and not merely a form of confused emotional reactivity or drama, but, most often it is not.

The second form is refusal to accept some idea, etc. This is often posed as failure to understand when it is actually intentional.

The third form is genuine inability to receive or comprehend whatever is in question. This may be due to factors other than the obvious, such as mistranslation or missing or misactivated frameworks.

The fourth form is the suspension of understanding for the purpose of further exploration.

The fifth form is complete suspense of this activity. The faculty ordinarily thus involved is either quieted or repurposed.