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RE: Terence McKenna: "Linear Societies, Nonlinear Drugs"
The world is made of language. That is such a classic idea from Terrence McKenna.
It's interesting that the statement itself is made of language, from the macro level where we humans interpret the sound waves or visual symbols, down to the quantum level which forms the basis of those sound or light waves.
I wonder though if the world is only made of language, or if it's also made of something else. Randomness also seems to play a part in the formation of things, and I don't think randomness can be considered language or code. Because if anything random is discovered to have meaning, it kind of takes the randomness out of it. So if anything is truly random, I think it points to a place beyond language, outside it, or preceding it.
Over the years I've thought a lot about that idea of Terence's. Today I'd word it a little differently as: Humans think about the world in various languages. Thus language, in a way, shapes our understanding of the world.
Yes. Language is so intertwined with how people understand the world. I've been studying Japanese for many years, and still have not cracked the code, nor do I ever expect to. But I do get insights from time to time. Language learning is another form of mind expansion. Travel is as well, and I think I remember Terrence mentioning this more than once.