Musings

On the Futility of Complete Understanding2025 · 07

No two people ever truly agree, at least not fully. They may align on the surface, agree on the concept under discussion, but wholehearted agreement? No. It's as simple as that.
Our understanding is shaped by language, which is hopelessly inadequate for capturing the full depth of individual experience. (Have fun googling "cavoli riscaldati.")

Some writers express themselves in lucid prose that almost makes you feel the way they did, but can one be sure? It is such an interesting thought: we cannot replicate a feeling, a feeling is born out of all the past experiences, neural wiring, and whatnot. And I think that makes it unique to the individual and that's fine. Even better: I want me to be the only possessor of such an euphoric moment. I can share but one will never feel the way I do.

Try it: explain your favorite piece of music in words. Not just what it is, but why you love it. Describe it so someone else feels it the way you do.
You can't. And that's the point.

There exists a gap between internal emotion and external articulation. It will remain, that's why it's unique and special; otherwise we simply wouldn’t care.

The act of trying to explain your worldview often ends in frustration, not because you failed to make your point, but because your listener never stood where you stood. Even if they did, they wouldn’t feel what you felt!(Thanks, genes.)
The smallest differences like unnoticed habits, unshared memories can lead to a radically different interpretation of the same event. Thomas Nagel, wrote about the impossibility of truly knowing what it’s like to be someone else.(See: “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?”)

Still, we keep trying. Not because we believe we’ll succeed, but because the effort itself is what connects us. Like talking about dreams we can’t remember, or music we can’t explain.
So go ahead. Try to describe your favorite music.
I’ll wait.