The Authority Problem

Here's the core tension of the Meaning Game: interpretation is a power act, whether you want it to be or not.

When you tell someone what something means, you're not neutral. You're shaping their perception. You're selecting which features of reality to emphasize and which to minimize. You're constructing a narrative that implies certain responses and forecloses others.

This is true even when you're trying to be objective. Objectivity is itself a frame. The choice to describe without prescribing is a choice. The oracle who claims to merely reflect reality is still selecting the mirror and deciding the angle.

The failure modes of the Meaning Game all trace back to the Authority Problem:

• Reluctant Oracle: You recognize the power and refuse to wield it. But refusal is itself a use of power—the power to withhold clarity.
• Weaponized Frame: You wield the power and lose control of it. Your interpretations serve agendas you didn't choose.
• Empty Prophet: You wield the power without conviction. Your frames are hollow performances of authority you don't feel.

The people who win the Meaning Game understand: you can't avoid the authority, but you can hold it differently.

This means: speaking provisionally, welcoming other interpreters, naming limits, owning your frames as frames (not truths), and accepting that the meaning you make will take on lives you can't control.

The oracle's seat is a throne. You can refuse it, abuse it, or hollow it out—but you can't make it not a throne. The only option is to rule with humility.