science

Unsaid

Unsaid is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Unsaid rather than just read about it. In short: The term "unsaid" refers what is not explicitly stated, what is hidden and/or implied in the speech of an individual or a group of people. The unsaid may be the product of intimidation; of a mulling over of thought; or of bafflement in the face of the inexpressible.

Key takeaways

Unsaid belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Unsaid to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Unsaid from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The term "unsaid" refers what is not explicitly stated, what is hidden and/or implied in the speech of an individual or a group of people. The unsaid may be the product of intimidation; of a mulling over of thought; or of bafflement in the face of the inexpressible.

Linguistics Sociolinguistics points out that in normal communication what is left unsaid is as important as what is actually said—that we expect our auditors regularly to fill in the social context/norms of our conversations as we proceed. Basil Bernstein saw one difference between the restricted code and the elaborated code of speech is that more would be left implicit in the former than the latter.

Ethnology In ethnology, ethnomethodology established a strong link between unsaid and axiomatic. Harold Garfinkel, following Durkheim, stressed that in any given situation, even a legally binding contract, the terms of agreement rest upon the 90% of unspoken assumptions that underlie the visible (spoken) tip of the interactive iceberg. Edward T. Hall argued that much cross-cultural miscommunication stemmed from neglect of the silent, unspoken, but differing cultural patterns that each participant unconsciously took for granted.

Psychoanalysis Luce Irigaray has emphasised the importance of listening to the unsaid dimension of discourse in psychoanalytic practice—something which may shed light on the unconscious phantasies of the person being analysed. Other psychotherapies have also emphasised the importance of the non-verbal component of the patient's communication, sometimes privileging this over the verbal content. Behind all such thinking stands Freud's dictum: "no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips...at every pore".

Cultural examples Sherlock Holmes is said to have owed his success to his attention to the unsaid in his client's communications. In Small World, the heroine cheekily excuses her lack of note-taking to a Sorbonne professor by saying: "it is not what you say that impresses me most, it is what you are silent about: ideas, morality, love, death, things...Vos silences profonds".

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Unsaid

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Unsaid claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Unsaid before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Unsaid ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Unsaid

In research: Unsaid appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Unsaid in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Unsaid is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ethnology, Human communication, Nonverbal communication, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Unsaid outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Unsaid in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Unsaid means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Unsaid out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Unsaid in simple terms?

Why does Unsaid matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Unsaid?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Unsaid.