Writing

Writing is a magnificent tool. It allows us to externalize our internal thoughts and knowledge in a way that can be disseminated all over the world and understood by other humans. In this almost magical way, we can literally convey our thoughts to other people as if they have stepped into our mind and taken on our ideas. Furthermore, thanks to writing, we can benefit from the knowledge of thousands of previous generations, and subsequently leave our influence for all future readers.

Writing is flexible and is used in all areas of life. We need it to keep our records and preserve our history. With it, we can share our feelings and describe our internal subjective experience. We need writing for math and for engineering. In fact, there is most likely not one facet of our modern society that one could point to that would have been possible were it not for the invention of writing.

However, it is not because of its utilitarian functions that I find writing so profound. Writing fascinates me most because of its ability to elucidate the fundamental nature of the human mind. Our use of writing, past and present, serves as a mirror through which all of humanity can examine itself. Not just current events and trends, but a deep reflection of the whole of human civilization, and a dim outline of the inner workings of our conscious minds.

Linguist Noam Chomsky is famous for arguing the Universal Theory of Grammar, which postulates that the grammatical structure and systematic composition of our languages belies an inborn nature in which the human mind functions. Though seemingly distinct languages may have superficial differences, they are all scaffolded by the same a priori framework of human cognition. As if each language is grown from the same seed, but disparate environments lead to variations in the plumage. It is Chomsky's theory that by understanding how languages are fundamentally put together, we can come to more fully understand how our minds are put together.

Other linguistic theories dealing with human cognition assert that it may be the other way around. That we only learn to think and communicate a certain way because it reflects the codified rules previously established by our society. The rules become ingrained in our subconscious, not because of genetic predisposition, but because we are taught them through imitation and education.

I believe that to simplify the interaction between human thought and our use of writing to one of two distinct and isolated causes is insufficient. Like all things, it is much more complex and involves interplay and feedback from many forces. Human thought and language are virtually inseparable, as they constantly influence each other through mutual evolution and co-delineation; a single seething organism fluctuating, pulsating, and changing in many ways. This is why I feel writing is such a precious gift, because it is so crucial to the functioning and understanding of our mind.