WIRED’s spiritual advice columnist on textual etiquette, self-expression, and information overload.
Self-expression has not always been deemed an absolute virtue. The duty to speak the truth does not mean that every truth should be uttered, and it's possible, even, that there's an inverse relationship between maundering and meaning. “Words are like leaves and where they most abound, much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found,” Alexander Pope wrote in his 1709 “Essay on Criticism.
I'm not going to tell you that you should never ask what someone was about to say. The contexts are too multiple for uniform advice, and part of the work of social life involves identifying the communication styles of others, considering their motives, and diligently reading between the lines—skills that were once known, simply, as listening. I will, however, ask you to consider that the unsent text might be a blessing.
At the risk of veering into the abstract, I'll conclude by reminding you that information, in its truest and most technical sense, depends on a process of elimination. Each time we speak, or type a sentence into our messaging app, we are not only choosing specific words but, more importantly, excluding all the words we could have chosen. This was the crucial insight that led Claude Shannon to create information theory, the framework that is responsible for the entirety of the digital age.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Castner Ice Cave has gone from an isolated curiosity in the Alaska Range to major tourist attractionOutdoors columnist John Schandelmeier: The Castner Ice Cave has gone from an isolated curiosity in the Alaska Range to a major tourist attraction over the years
Read more »
Savannah Guthrie laughs off troll asking why she looks ‘so old’“You look so old Savannah what happened to you,” one follower wrote on Instagram, which the “Today” host shared to her Instagram Stories.
Read more »
California has $600M in unclaimed can, bottle depositsCalifornia has accumulated $600 million in unclaimed nickel and dime deposits for recyclable cans and bottles.
Read more »
Everything You Can Do With a Can of ChickpeasAfter a good knife and a heavy skillet, the most heavy-duty workhorse in my kitchen isn't a piece of equipment at all; it's a can of chickpeas.
Read more »
Elden Ring Streamer Beats The Game Without Taking Any Damage At AllPopular streamer Seki has shocked the ELDENRING community by completing the game in under 3 hours without taking any enemy or environmental damage.
Read more »