Short Thought on a Human Condition

[written from mobile, please disregard capitalisation inconsistencies.]


2 things.


First, you may or may not have heard the mind-shattering question of 'how do you know you are not alone in this world?'.
the gist of the question is this: considering that everything you experience is basically neural signals in your own brain, how can you say with certainty that people - people you know around you, people you talk to on a daily basis or meet for the first time - are "real", and not just part of your imagination? just autonomically and spontaneously generated neural signals to give the illusion that others exist? maybe the life you know is entirely a figment of your imagination? maybe you are truly and utterly alone in your existence.

believe it or not, that question is moot. pointless.
it's like the myth of 'bumblebees aren't supposed to be capable of flight according to aerodynamics, but they fly anyway' - this has been disproved, the flight of a bee can be explained by aerodynamics.
the fact that others do exist has been proven in a philosophical experiment by a simple fact: language.
if every person you meet was just parts of your imagination, there would be no need for language at all. you would be able to interface with yourself easily, and there would be no room for misunderstandings that arise from language issues.

note here that I don't mean just 'people who speak different languages', but also the fact that even people who speak the same language have incomplete communication with each other. in other words, it is very difficult to accurately and unambiguously convey what you mean (including all nuances) to another person.

so, this leads us to an interesting situation.
1. we are definitely not alone in this existence.
2. the evidence that proves this fact also states that even if we aren't alone in this existence, we are incapable of truly understanding each other.
3. so... how together are we, when we are together?
it's a somewhat difficult and lonely state we exist in.

[side note: this is part of the reason why I struggle and strive to learn languages, to better my skills at conveying what I mean, to aid (as much as I can) the understanding of the person I am speaking to.
this is also the reason I try to give my full attention to the person or people I am with or in communication with.]


Second, just a short addendum, somebody asked me recently, 'aren't you lonely?' or 'you must be lonely'.
I can't remember what it was that brought about that question, nor the exact nuance/wording/intention of that question, but... my answer was simple.
"Aren't we all."

and I meant it. every word, every letter, every inflection of my voice.
this is our condition. this is us, right now.