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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)