The connection between language and thinking is a lot stronger than
most people suspect.
What worries (and inspires) me
the most about language is that it's
basic nature hasn't changed in thousands
of years, we still link idea
packages (words) to each other in a
linear fashion.
After all language is our
primary popular method for
abstracting reality (ignoring
for a moment specialist
languages like maths).
Another huge leap in improving
communication will happen when
we start using VR technology as a
comm. tool by writing in 3D.
This is mainly due to our
reliances on speech (through
one mouth). Written language
has always been done on a 2D
surface, Hypertext is
a glimpse of what our future
communication systems might
look like, by adding more
dimensions.
As more of our communication moves
to the electronic platform,
written speech will become less
important, less productive and more
of a subset of communication
than it's very backbone. How
about communicating by thinking
images onto a window on the screen
while written text pieces jump out
at you accompanied by various
emotive sounds.
Parallel-non linear languages
will free
our minds from a thousands year old
thinking paradigm, making
thinking and communicating
a
much
more
liquid experience
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Stephen de Vries phen@wwg3.uovs.ac.za
www.geocities.com/athens/7415/index.html
- Challenge the guardians of the possible -