What do we gain and what do we lose when we name something?
When we name something, we are literally classifying that object or person and thus losing or manipulating the knowledge that surrounds its appearance, etc. By naming something - (i.e. an object), we run the risk of not describing its appearance accurately and being misleading.
An example of an object/product being deceivingly named is the Coca-Cola Company’s alternative to the original version – Diet Coke, formally known as Diet Coca-Cola (also known as Coca-Cola Light or Coke Light). By placing the word ‘diet’ in the product name, it automatically seems like a healthier alternative to the original Coca-Cola. The difference between the two is that Diet Coke contains no sugar, instead – an artificial sweetener called aspartame. Diet Coke was sweetened with aspartame after the sweetener became available in the U.S in the ‘80s. However, to save money, this was originally in a blend with saccharin. Unknown to the public, saccharin was actually a by-product of coal tar and was extremely damaging to health – with studies showing a correlation between saccharin consumption and increased frequency of cancer. However, saccharin is not the only unsafe sweetener present in Diet Coke; certain studies have shown possible connections between aspartame and negative effects such as headaches, brain tumours, brain lesions, and lymphoma. In actual fact, Diet Coke contains no calories and is thus ‘considered’ healthy; but I would prefer the sugar-abundant original Coca-Cola. At least I can be sure that I’m not running the risk of developing cancer from drinking coal tar. By naming something, we run the risk of losing the concept of what it actually is, and instead gaining the connotations surrounding the word in question.
