Some things cannot be said.
Explanation
This truth represents several interpretations at once:
- Sometimes the thing you wish to say is not just negated in the saying, but obliterated. The classic example is that of humility. The moment you claim to be humble (see STFL #10), you demonstrate that you are not.
- Sometimes the thing you wish to say can’t be said because the hearer cannot hear what you want to tell them. Try convincing someone they made a mistake or that they are wrong. Oftentimes, they will just dig into their mistaken place further and further the more you try to help them.
- Some things are simply non-cognitive. You cannot really explain color. If a blind person has never seen a color, she does not know what a color is and no amount of telling will explain it to her. You cannot explain the sublime, it is something that must be experienced.
Communication is complicated by the fact that words mean things (see STFL #18). Communication is complicated by the fact that your audience may be unwilling to understand what you mean. Or your audience may simply be unable to understand what you mean.
Some things cannot be communicated.
This is a significant fact impacting reality. Why is it impossible to claim to be humble? Why can’t a taste or smell or color or other sensation be communicated clearly?
The worst of these is the pride issue of the listener. If you want to communicate to a narcissist and tell them that they hurt you, their pride may be so towering that they literally cannot hear you. They might be offended. They might think you’re wrong. They might just ignore you. But you can be sure that a truly prideful person cannot hear you.
If you talk about fools who are terrible people, you can be sure that some of those fools will be the first to shout “Hear! Hear!” when you talk about them, assuming you are talking about someone else.
Also along these lines, if someone says something, how do you know they mean it? See STFL #104.
A very similar truth to this one is STFL #130 where we discuss how saying certain things can soften or negate a word’s meaning.