Torblog

The internet is another layer upon which language can be utilized to transport messages across the globe, from one human to another, in mere seconds if not less. The interesting part is – like the preceding quote states – if language can be a source of misunderstanding, how does a web of information based on human language help mankind?

I often end up being unable to explain exactly what I want to convey to other people by means of clear and simple language, and so instead I wrap things in metaphors so that the meaning can be conveyed as part of an experience. The experience is realizing the metaphor, and so upon realizing and understanding the metaphor, the meaning is conveyed. But that is a vastly inferior way to communicate, as it requires the recipient to be in the same mind frame as you are. If they are not then their interpretation may differ so vastly from what you meant for it to mean that the original message is all but lost.

And it is in this light that the internet – a “new” means of communicating using “old” language – is an interesting philosophical topic. Does it connect us all to each other, or does it seperate us in a connected web fogged in misunderstood language?