something said or done to inform another that his
statement or
action has been noted, understood and received. "Very good," "Okay," and other such phrases are intended to inform another who has spoken or acted that his
statement or
action has been accepted. An acknowledgement also tends to confirm that the
statement has been made or the
action has been done and so brings about a
condition not only of
communication but of
reality between two or more people. Applause at a theater is an acknowledgement of the actor or
act plus approval. Acknowledgement itself does not necessarily imply an approval or disapproval or any other thing beyond the
knowledge that an
action or
statement has been observed and is received. In signaling with the
morse code the
receiver of a
message transmits an R to the sender as a
signal that the
message has been received, which is to say acknowledged. There is such a thing as over-acknowledgement and there is such a thing as under-acknowledgement. A correct and exact acknowledgement communicates to someone who has spoken that what he has said has been heard. An acknowledgement tends to
terminate or end the
cycle of a
communication, and when expertly used can sometimes
stop a continued
statement or continued
action. An acknowledgement is also part of the
communication formula and is one of its steps. The
Scientologist, sometimes, in using
Scientologese abbreviates this to "
Ack"; he "acked" the person.
(LRH Def. Notes)