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To: chilepepper
Errr, so is all writing and so are all symbols.

Yes, but to what degree can mathematical formulae convey the sorts of meanings Shakespeare did in his sonnets? Or vice versa? Having read Korzybski I think I know where you're coming from, but there are ways of comprehending to some degree the meanings that attached to a certain context if there are enough clues. The contemporary use of quipu compared with historical examples might be enough to open some interesting historical windows.

I'm not saying we'll truly understand the shades of meaning intended by the weavers but this kind of research is important if it can cast new light on the Inca and other cultures like the Nazca.

20 posted on 01/05/2004 9:18:35 PM PST by Bernard Marx ("Do what you are afraid to do." Anonymous.)
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To: Bernard Marx
My point is simply that we communicate to an extent less than we believe (but we are the most communicative species none-the-less).

In particular, not understanding that communication is far less "mathematical" then we assume (even if a Real Academia de Espana goes to great lengths to describe the precise meaning of words in Spanish, for example) gives rise directly to intolerance IMHO since in someones personal or cultural context, things seem to be so obvious that how could an infidel not see what one sees?

What I take away from Korzybski is an extreme warning that we assume too much when we describe our individual and collective contexts to each other, and this leads to errors in understanding both gross and subtle...

21 posted on 01/06/2004 6:33:28 AM PST by chilepepper (The map is not the territory -- Alfred Korzybski)
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