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Pattern | Meaningness

meaningness.com · 474 words · saved by 1 readers

Brains automatically find meaning and pattern; we need them to act. Unfortunately, brains also find meaning and pattern where there are none.

On the previous page , I explained that meanings, like clouds, are nebulous: insubstantial, amorphous, non-separable, transient, ambiguous. Meanings are also more or less patterned: reliable, clear, distinct, enduring, and definite. Nebulosity and pattern might seem to contradict each other, but almost always they come together . Meaning is usually nebulous to some extent, and patterned to some extent. It can be hard to accept that meaningness is a matter of degree, not either/or. This book is about the confusions that come from assuming meaning must be either totally patterned, or entirely no

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