Hi, this week we have explored how shapes helps
us to see things that might otherwise remain
hidden. A graph gives visible shape to an equation.
Symmetry reveals what remains constant through
transformation. Topology looks beneath outward
appearance to find a deeper structure. And mathematical
models gives us simplified shapes that we can
understand a reality. much larger than ourselves.
But shapes do more than help us receive meaning.
They help us communicate it. Each of us has thoughts
and emotions and experiences living within us
that we want to share. But the people around
us cannot read our minds. So to communicate,
we must give those invisible thoughts a form.
We give them the shape of language. I experience
this every time I record one of these reflections.
As I speak in my computer, I can see my voice
displayed as a waveform. Quiet words create smaller
shapes. Louder words create taller ones. A pause
leaves an empty space. The rhythm and emphasis
of my voice form a pattern that rises and falls
across the screen. Before anyone hears the meaning
of my words, my voice has already left behind
a visible shape. But communication is more than
sound waves. Sentences have structure. Stories
have arcs. A conversation has a direction. Two
people can communicate the same basic information
while giving it entirely different shapes. I
can't believe you did that! Has one shape. Can
you help me understand what happened? Has another.
One takes the shape of an accusation and the
other takes the shape of an invitation. Even
artificial intelligence offers a surprising example.
AI represents words and ideas within enormous
multidimensional spaces. Related ideas are positioned
closer together while unrelated ideas are further
apart. And once again, something invisible, meaning,
is given a mathematical shape. But perhaps the
most important shape of our communication cannot
be seen on a computer screen. It is the shape
our words create within another person. Words
can close someone down or they can draw them
out. They can increase distance or create connection.
They can reduce someone to a label or help that
person feel truly seen. Our words can take the
shape of a weapon, a wall, a window, or an open
door. Communication is not simply the transfer
of facts from one mind to another. It is a form
of art. We take something hidden within us and
shape it so that another person might see, hear,
and experience it. This week began with the shapes
that draw us in, a flower, a sunset. a newborn
baby, or a beautiful mathematical curve. So perhaps
we should end it by considering the shapes that
we send back into the world. So every time you
speak, you give shape to something within you.
So our question to end the week is this. What
shape do you want your words to take? This is
Dave from Intersecting Us.