Adequacy is the correctness

Some words in the language acquire strange, and sometimes empty, values, far from the original. So it happened with the word "adequacy". This concept became "empty". That is, it has become too broad a meaning that is used without reference to a particular situation.

The term informatics

Initially, adequacy is just a match. Usual correctness. Nothing special. And when they said "the adequacy of a person", it was simply the social acceptability of his behavior. That is, compliance with certain norms, and not an arbitrary value judgment.

As expected

And the word itself became blurred. The application of his antonym - offensive. When a person is given a characteristic by the parameter "adequacy", this means that predictability is evaluated. And predictability stems from the same correctness, which was mentioned just above. That is, the behavior of a conditionally "adequate" person is understandable on the basis of rules.

Formally and in essence

But if you think about exactly what rules are evaluated when assessing the adequacy, the situation becomes incomprehensible. There are rules of etiquette, but they are applicable only in a formal sense. In practice, the art of interacting with people requires skill and emotional sensitivity and flexibility. And not at all following the formal etiquette.

Tortured by vague doubts?

Sometimes on the forums you can meet the cry of the soul: "I doubt in my adequacy". Most often the sufferer is not sure of his mental health. Or he simply has little experience in a certain field and considers himself incapable of understanding in this or that situation related to relations with people. What can I advise? Calm down, and if there are voices or thoughts of greatness, nothingness of one's own personality, go to a psychiatrist. In all other cases, it is enough to consult a psychologist. Often a person is unable to look at himself from outside, and therefore feels his behavior as wrong.

Comfort Rules

So, adequacy is a very strongly generalized concept of a person 's ability to predictably respond, creating a minimum of problems to others. Etiquette grew out of the need not to cause discomfort to people around. He can not foresee absolutely all variants of events. Therefore, if you feel insecure about communication, etiquette should be mastered, but you will have to ... and communicate as much as possible. But it's not enough just to communicate - you need to carefully approach this issue, draw conclusions, and notice differences. Even an emotionally not very sensitive person can learn communication through intellect. Just think, analyze, compare - and everything will turn out.

Refrain!

If you are a leader or a responsible person, I, as a linguist, would recommend not using this word at all, even in conversations with people who often use it. It is too inaccurate and gives bad language taste to the user. If you want to say well-bred - say it, predictable is also a great word, reliable - in Russian and clear. Do not mock the language and do not show yourself worse than it really is.