Language is a tool for communication, not a tool for thought
by Mark · updated 6d ago
Language is a tool for communication, not a tool for thought
- And so, while language is necessary, it does a disservice to reality. In attempting to describe the indescribable, words constrain reality. Through simplifications, generalizations, and connotations they mischaracterize and water it down. They fail to capture the complexity, uniqueness, and dynamism of life. And as a result, we never truly see, und... See more
from The Pursuit
Mark added 6d ago
- We often think of language as a means to an end, but rarely take the time to consider whether language in itself is influencing our thoughts, not just enabling the sharing of them.
from Gaining Perspective Through Untranslatable Words by Steph Smith
Mark added 6d ago
- A new idea can be spread quickly if someone can explain it and communicate it to others before they have to discover it themselves. But the chief advantage of language is not communication but autogeneration. Language is a trick that allows the mind to question itself; a magic mirror that reveals to the mind what the mind thinks; a handle that turn... See more
from What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly
Mark added 6d ago
- Words shape our ideas, how we see the world, and how we relate to one another. As design teacher and researcher Anne Galloway says:
“Language doesn’t just make things—it assembles, cobbles together, entire worlds and all the relations within.”
Language makes it possible for us to navigate places and relationships; to express needs and requirements; t... See morefrom Words as Material by Matt Felten
Mark added 6d ago
It is language that enables us to not merely experience reality, but to participate in its creation.
from Food Of The Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge by Terence McKenna
Mark added 6d ago
‘Language is not merely a device for communicating ideas about the world, but rather a tool for bringing the world into existence … Reality is not simply ‘experienced’ or ‘reflected’ in language, but instead is actually produced by language.’
from Food Of The Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge by Terence McKenna
Mark added 6d ago
Ideas related to this collection