In the Theory Of Constraints "Thinking Tools" (a method to try and apply logic to group/systems dynamics/conflicts/constraints) they call this a "clarity reservation". I got caught up in a big discussion board argument about "gun control" before realizing everyone was arguing passionately about wildly different mental models that "gun control" represented. I could have said, "I have a clarity reservation on gun control" and spun the discussion out into several more simultaneous conversations.
It also got me thinking that most terms like this could be mapped on a 2x2 grid of "content" versus "signal". "Content" is the meaningfulness of the definition, and "signal" is the emotional impact of the word, or its ability to elicit certain emotional responses in the audience. "Gun control" could be seen as a high-signal low-content term, and that's the quadrant that you probably most want to avoid (or taboo).
This happens a lot in software engineering, too, probably more in the low-signal low-content quadrant (since most overloaded terms in software engineering are rather boring in the grand scheme). We regularly have confusion at work about words like "profile" (performance? user info? data type?) and "dev" (our test server? our git branch? our team?). This can also be hard when introducing layers of abstraction in a codebase - I feel like more than once I've struggled with running out of synonyms when trying to name certain classes.
It also got me thinking that most terms like this could be mapped on a 2x2 grid of "content" versus "signal". "Content" is the meaningfulness of the definition, and "signal" is the emotional impact of the word, or its ability to elicit certain emotional responses in the audience. "Gun control" could be seen as a high-signal low-content term, and that's the quadrant that you probably most want to avoid (or taboo).
This happens a lot in software engineering, too, probably more in the low-signal low-content quadrant (since most overloaded terms in software engineering are rather boring in the grand scheme). We regularly have confusion at work about words like "profile" (performance? user info? data type?) and "dev" (our test server? our git branch? our team?). This can also be hard when introducing layers of abstraction in a codebase - I feel like more than once I've struggled with running out of synonyms when trying to name certain classes.