Medium 2: root version
I would like to propose a new medium for interdisciplinary communications. Not a medium that can convey meanings, but a medium that is laying the groundwork for all possible meaning. That might sound rather universal and abstract, but in fact it is the most sensuous medium, as the following example might clarify:
If two people were to get shipwrecked on a desert island, miles apart from each other, what then could best be done in order to find one another? This problem cannot be solved without introducing something new into the story. This new thing will then be an exemplar of the sensuous medium I am proposing to use.
If the shipwrecked want to find each other, it is not enough for them to rely on reason only. For instance, they might think it a good idea to write wait for me here in the sand. A fairly reasonable thought, it seems. However, because it is, the other person is most likely to make the same plan and make his own sign. Having two meeting signs is very unreasonable.
Their shared thoughts are of no use if not applied to some shared thing. So really they ought to turn their attention to their environment. What will most likely catch their eye?
The thing that is most noticeable.
The island might consist of: lots of sand, palms and a mountain. Of course then the mountain is the most noticeable thing. For instance in being the only one, or the only one shaped like an eagle, or printed in bold.
As the mountain is so very noticeable, it is reasonable for one to assume it will manipulate the other’s senses likewise. Thus making the mountain the most perfect thing to which they can assign their shared thoughts, and make it their meeting place. This most noticeable thing now, exemplifies the sensuous medium I am proposing to use:
Things.
Things. are of such a kind that they open up possibilities for communication, without actually saying anything. The only demand is that they are noticeable, so that they will be part of people’s environment. In making them noticeable, we can use tried methods, like for instance: authenticity, uselessness, or simply charm.
And because we have discovered things to be so perfectly adaptable to any situation, and as such able to survive any specific meaning, I have found that they indeed offer us the most suitable interdisciplinary glue.