8-28-04

On an unrelated note, I think that the idea of consciousness implies not only awareness, but communication. All conscious things communicate in some way. Even some things which don't seem all that conscious can communicate quite well even across vast distances, such as colonies of single celled organisms. As you go higher in the heirarchy of thinking creatures, you see increasingly complex communication. The most advanced, such as humans, whales, birds, and apes have vocal communication. As far as we know, only humans have any written language worth mentioning.

When using this written language (American Enlgish being the most prevalent standard language), I am often frustrated by the discrepancy between thought and language. They are not the same. One is an approximation of the other. You sort of have to squeeze the thoughts into the words. By definition, words are finite and absolute (although in reality they change over time based on usage, which is one way that language evolves). Thoughts, on the other hand, are fluid. They whirl around. Intuition is reason in a hurry, or so they say.

Our written history has evolved over a few thousand years to a fairly advanced state, along with our ability to physically illustrate ideas, which I think represents a new stage of the evolution of language, which is the art of sharing meaning. Since the advent of magazines, television, movies, and the internet, our language is developing more toward imagery. Literacy in America has decreased 30% in the last century. But more homes have televisions than plumbing.

Here's 3d picture of a bunch of people juggling. In order to view it properly, get about 12 inches away from the picture, cross your eyes until you see two pictures, then uncross them until the two pictures merge into one, then stare at it until it comes into focus. Cool, huh?