All communication is lossy

Here are 13 things that every skilled chaos-surfer understands:

1. How something appears to you may not be how it is.


2. What is said or shown may not be all there is.


3. What is true for me may not be true for you.


4. The same words may mean different things to different people.


5. What people say may not be what they mean. Because comms is lossy and language is me

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Communication is not what is said or even what is not said. Communication is what is received in the context. Additionally, communication is not what is on the transcript; it is what it was possible to say or not say. As living creatures, our perception is made up of combining bits of stimuli. We put notes together to form songs, we combine light t... See more

I don’t believe that policy tweaks, regulations, shifting economic models, or newer technologies built on the same assumptions will solve the most fundamental challenges posed by our technological milieu. Such measures may have their role to play, no doubt. But I would characterize these measures as grand but ultimately inadequate gestures that app... See more