Math May Fill In Where Language Falls Short

Sometimes, words aren’t enough to describe our experiences, but mathematical advancement could help us fill in the gaps.

Katrina Paulson
7 min readJun 6, 2024
Photo by Saad Ahmad on Unsplash

For centuries, we’ve dissected, reduced, and labeled everything we can about our shared external world and reality. Now, we’ve reached a new era of shifting our focus inward to our internal experiences. We’re also beginning to combine subjects to learn how the pieces work together.

Today’s topic is a prime example because we’re about to venture to a place where philosophy and mathematics, two seemingly opposite branches of knowledge, come together to help explain one of humanity’s greatest struggles — describing our internal experiences to others. But also that such ineffability may not be a flaw but an evolutionary feature of consciousness.

The Ineffability of Language

Words are powerful, yet those words also fall short of fully capturing just how powerful words are. I could tell you that words can change the hearts and minds of individuals and nations. Words influence the course of history. They can heal and harm. Yet, words alone are sometimes not enough to capture the richness or depth of words’ power.

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Katrina Paulson

I wonder about humanity, questions with no answers, and new discoveries. Then I write about them here and on substack! https://curiousadventure.substack.com