Ideas and Words
Sometimes, words are not enough.
A stunning landscape with vibrant hues. A whimsical melody against a deep bass. A rich, leathery texture and a smooth, nourishing taste. In shallow terms, these things are easy to describe, but they bear a deeper, subtler meaning that can only be shared through common experience.
The idea outgrows the language.
But words remain a useful tool. The practiced wordsmith can move an audience to understand, to feel, and to act. Their words produce a harmony that spills over its consumers, reaching for absolute, complete clarity.
We are not all gifted in the art of translating the idea into the word. It is not a simple feat to transform a flawed, cruel idea into a stream of joyous understanding. It takes an extraordinary person to rise to such a task.
As we write this, it is the day after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. It is clearer to us than ever that words are the only true form of power today. The election result was an obvious triumph of word over idea. The candidate who chose their words in pursuit of a simplistic vision for America came out victorious. The candidate whose message to America was filled with nuanced ideas did not.
This election has highlighted two competing modes of rhetoric: one style worshipped the bold and the simple, while the other depended on the mundane and the complex. The former chose brevity while the latter chose completeness. As the country seeks common ground, we seek a common style. We seek a path of linguistic discretion, of intelligence but also engagement, of conciseness as well as comprehensiveness.
That path is the foundation of our new blog, Ideas and Words. Here, we will convey ideas that are simple, poignant, yet smart, about topics we care about like software, entrepreneurship, politics, and culture.
Facing a deficit of words, we shrink the idea to fit.
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