In watching this interview with Elon Musk on the Joe Rogan podcast, the comment that stuck out to me most happened at this point.

In describing his Neuralink and its capabilities for the future, Musk comments that language is a barrier to explaining complex ideas. An idea must be compressed, simplified, communicated and then it is interpreted and decompressed by the receiver.

This is a brilliant insight for many reasons.

For starters, it teaches that complex ideas cannot be fully understood with simplistic analogies. They help understanding, but don’t teach it in a way to elucidate its many facets.

The danger of constantly oversimplifying ideas is readily observable. People have a misguided sense of knowledge about a topic they know little about, but posture as they do because they saw it explained on a meme/tweet/info graphic/five-minute video, etc.

In my favourite category of religious expression that is mysticism, it applies in a profound way.

A completely spiritual experience is impossible to describe, leaving the realm of the mystic clouded in poetic language because that’s the best thing available. It helps, but it doesn’t capture the depth of its complexity.

My friend and co-author Matti Silver recently read a fantasy book I drafted. His observations are uncanny (in many ways) and asked me whether the way my characters use their magic is what I experience during meditation/prayer.

Re-reading my descriptions of those events, I marvelled at my unconscious attempt to describe the experience. However, the description still wouldn’t get the reader to feel the same way and I resorted to figurative language to help bridge the gap.

Then there’s the barrier of language between two people who can’t seem to communicate on the same level and always seem to be talking about two different things while frustrated the other person fails to see their viewpoint.

An example of this is any couple, ever!

Many of our communication issues could be solved if there was some way to transcend language.

It’s the best thing we have, but it’s still a barrier.