# Audit Roots

<figure><img src="https://2905879428-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MS2xefUFfUTrhwFW_o3%2Fuploads%2FkhEttlmJzelF30CrrKGB%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=4c2b08dd-ff00-437d-88a8-cdb604912cb4" alt="&#x22;It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.&#x22; -Epictetus (55 - 135 A.D.)"><figcaption><p>"It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows."<br>Epictetus (55 - 135 A.D.)</p></figcaption></figure>

> …Talking about diet
>
> A: Have you heard "paleo diet"
>
> B: No, but heard "keto diet"
>
> A: Okay what is it?
>
> B: It's a diet, reduce carbs.
>
> A: Okay what is "Keto"
>
> B: Don't know.
>
> … Conversation continues then lands in Office matters&#x20;
>
> C: The Person(X) always say Audit/Compliance
>
> A: Yes, don't know what they mean. What do you understand&#x20;
>
> C: Don't know thats what the person says
>
> A: Okay, let's understand. we can guess it's roots. Find any similar sounding words
>
> … after a minute or two
>
> A: Think like Audio&#x20;
>
> B: Auditorium, Audition&#x20;
>
> C: Audience
>
> A: Let's take Audience for instance, what the Tamil meaning?
>
> C: Parvaiyalar \[பார்வையாளர் (Pārvaiyāḷar)]
>
> A: Okay, we'll come back to it. but, it's not the proper translation to the root meaning of Audience. So what could be the root meaning of the group of words we have now?
>
> …
>
> C: Nothing common- Audition is about participating in contest, auditorium is a place people attend events, Audience is who watch the show/stand up comedy /speech
>
> A: There is something common like the "Audi-" in common
>
> B: All are different words different meaning&#x20;
>
> A: yes it is, yet it has something in common. it's the root, from where it branch from
>
> B: didn't get it&#x20;
>
> A: Audi-o, Audi-torium, Audi-tion, Audi-ence. "Audi" is the common root, then with each suffix the meaning changes. What is it?
>
> C: Nope
>
> B: Nope
>
> A: 'Audi-' to hear, (in Tamil -[கேள்](https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/tamil-lex_query.py?page=1096)). Origin of Audit come from people ask why you did what you did and the other person justify why he did what he did. there is no rule to check against, or if it's not in the rule book you can't do as the X implies. it is the way X says that person doesn't know about the project mandates, nor the subject(technical details), nor The Audit it self. Otherwise they point exactly what the mandate/protocol/compliance clause says, so we can proceed to more meaningful conversation.
>
> B: it has two meaning, to ask, to hear
>
> A: yes we use Tamil as the meeting to communicate we get to the Tamil root analysis later.
>
> B: No, you said to hear when explaining Audit. It can be Ask as well.
>
> A: it is the cause create effect not other way around.&#x20;
>
> B: No we use 'கேள்'/(Kael) for both ask and hear.
>
> A: Yes the process is generate sound, travel through medium, then listened. Each has its name. Tamil too should have.
>
> B: No we use it for both
>
> A: We can't find root by what we day to day use, and the limits of what we know. To find tamil root words we need to find, understand etymology. Let's stick to Audi-
>
> B: you didn't understand what I say
>
> A: Yes, please explain otherwise I won't. First conclude root word for english Audi and the origins of Audit.
>
> …Mostly talking in circles.

{% columns %}
{% column %}
{% hint style="info" %}
'கேள்' (Kael) என்ற தமிழ் வார்த்தைக்கு **'வினவு' (ask/inquire)**, **'கவனி' (listen/hear)**, அல்லது **'கேட்பது'** என்று பொருள். இது ஒருவரிடம் கேள்வி கேட்பதையோ அல்லது ஒரு விஷயத்தைக் காதுகொடுத்துக் கேட்பதையோ குறிக்கும். **முக்கியப் பொருட்கள்:**

* **வினவு / கேள்வி கேள் (Ask / Inquire):** ஒருவரிடம் தகவல் கேட்பது (எ.கா: அவனிடம் கேள்).
* **கவனி / கேட்டுக்கொள் (Listen / Hear):** சத்தம் அல்லது சொற்களைக் கேட்பது (எ.கா: நான் சொல்வதைக் கேள்).
* **கேட்பது / வேண்டுதல் (Request):** ஒன்றை வேண்டிப் பெறுவது.

**எடுத்துக்காட்டுகள்:**

* அவனை **கேள்** (Ask him).
* பாட்டை **கேள்** (Listen to the song).
  {% endhint %}
  {% endcolumn %}

{% column %}
{% hint style="info" %}
The Tamil word 'Kael' means 'ask/inquire', 'listen/hear', or 'requesting'. This refers to either asking someone a question or listening to something attentively with the ears.

Main meanings:

* Ask / Inquire: Asking someone for information (e.g., Ask him).
* Listen / Hear: Hearing sounds or words (e.g., Listen to what I say).
* Requesting: Asking for and obtaining something.

Examples:

* Ask him.
* Listen to the song.
  {% endhint %}

{% endcolumn %}
{% endcolumns %}

{% hint style="info" %}
It is same for Paleo or Keto too, when people know/hear these words first in diet context, they associate the word with that, partly because we learn superficially. Person who already introduced "Paleolithic Era"/"ketogenesis", should understand the diet better not other way.
{% endhint %}

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Early Literature on **responsibility/audit**: Alexander Hamilton in *The Federalist Papers* (No. 63, 1788).

Summary: Hamilton argues that for a government to be effective, there must be a clear point of responsibility where the public can direct their praise or blame. It links **responsibility** to the **visibility of one’s actions.**
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[rethinking-governance-indigenous-western-and-dao-approaches](https://poornan.gitbook.io/thoughts-notes-and-collections/readme/collections/external-resources/rethinking-governance-indigenous-western-and-dao-approaches "mention")

***

(Substance vs Form) / (word/rule/law vs spirit of the same)&#x20;

What to do when new information presented?

***

## Revised with [Claude](https://claude.ai/share/118c6146-9c0c-42e3-8944-aff179064046)&#x20;

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## Audit Roots

<img src="https://claude.ai/chat/image-placeholder.png" alt="Epictetus Quote" data-size="original">

> "It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows."\
> — Epictetus (55 - 135 A.D.)

***

### A Conversation About Understanding

**Setting:** Three colleagues discussing workplace terminology over lunch.

**Maya:** You know how Person X always talks about "audit and compliance" in meetings? I nod along, but I'm not entirely sure what they mean by it.

**James:** Same here. They make it sound like some rigid checklist we're failing to follow.

**Priya:** Let's actually figure it out instead of pretending we know. What does "audit" even mean?

**Maya:** Good question. I know what auditors *do*, but I've never thought about the word itself.

**James:** Wait—"audit" sounds like "audio," doesn't it? Auditorium, audition, audience...

**Priya:** You're right! They all start with "audi-". That can't be a coincidence.

**Maya:** Let me think... An audience watches a performance. An audition is where you perform to be judged. An auditorium is where people gather to listen to something.

**James:** So what's the common thread?

**Priya:** They all involve listening or hearing! An audience *hears* the performance. In an audition, someone *hears* you perform. An auditorium is designed for *hearing* speakers or music.

**Maya:** Oh! So "audi-" must mean "to hear." Like in Latin—*audire*.

**James:** That makes sense. So "audit" comes from... hearing?

**Priya:** Think about it historically. An audit wasn't originally about checking boxes on a compliance form. It was about *listening* to someone explain their accounts—asking "why did you spend this?" and *hearing* their justification.

**Maya:** So it's more like a conversation than an interrogation against a rulebook?

**James:** That's completely different from how Person X uses it. They act like audit means finding violations of written rules.

**Priya:** Exactly. And that's the problem. When someone doesn't understand the root meaning, they reduce "audit" to rigid compliance checking. But real auditing is about listening to understand—asking "what happened here?" and evaluating the reasoning.

**Maya:** This explains why those meetings feel so frustrating. X isn't asking about our actual decisions or listening to our reasoning. They're just looking for rule violations that may not even apply to our project.

**James:** If they actually understood auditing, they'd ask us to explain our approach and evaluate whether our reasoning was sound—not just whether we checked every box.

***

### Reflection

This conversation illustrates a broader principle: **when we don't understand where words come from, we misunderstand the concepts they represent.**

"Audit" derives from the Latin *audire* (to hear). Historically, auditing meant listening to someone's account of their stewardship—a dialogue where justifications were heard and evaluated. Only later did it become associated with formal compliance frameworks.

When we learn words only in narrow contexts—like "audit" solely as bureaucratic compliance—we miss their deeper meaning. This superficial learning leads to superficial application.

The same pattern appears everywhere:

* Someone hears "keto diet" without understanding *ketogenesis* (the metabolic state)
* Someone learns "Paleolithic" only through diet fads, not geological eras
* Someone uses "audit" to mean "rule enforcement" rather than "reasoned examination"

**The lesson:** When you encounter specialized terms, trace them to their roots. Etymology isn't pedantic—it reveals the essential nature of concepts that get lost in modern usage.

***

### On Etymology and Translation

**A note on linguistic nuances:**

In exploring word roots across languages, we encounter interesting complexities. The Tamil word *கேள்* (*kēḷ*) can mean both "ask" and "hear"—two concepts that English and Latin separate. This isn't a deficiency in Tamil; rather, it reflects a different conceptual framework where inquiry and listening are understood as connected aspects of the same communicative act.

When tracing etymology:

* Recognize that root meanings may separate concepts your native language combines
* Understand that different languages carve up conceptual space differently
* Avoid assuming one language's distinctions are more "correct" than another's

The goal isn't linguistic purity, but deeper understanding of the ideas words carry.

***

### Application

Next time someone invokes "audit," "compliance," or any specialized term in your workplace:

1. **Pause and ask:** "What does that word actually mean at its root?"
2. **Trace the etymology:** Where does this term come from, and what did it originally describe?
3. **Compare:** How does the original meaning differ from how it's being used now?
4. **Evaluate:** Is the modern usage an appropriate evolution, or has the core meaning been lost?

This practice doesn't just prevent miscommunication—it reveals when concepts have been corrupted or oversimplified in translation from one domain to another.

As Epictetus reminds us: we cannot learn what we think we already know. The first step to understanding is acknowledging that familiar words may carry meanings we've never truly examined.
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