A quote that stood out most to me was from the Chinese philosopher Gongsun Long discussed in Gleick\u2019s \u201cPersistence of The Word\u201d. The quote poses a question: “Can it be that a white horse is not a horse?” Long elaborates on his question, \u201cHorse is that by means of which one names the shape. \u201cWhite is that by means of which one names the colour. What names the colour is not what names the shape. Hence, I say that a white horse is not a horse.\u201d Gleick used this argument in his paper about how written language has stolen the connection and intimacy between us and the world. The fact that we are made to think and sort our world into arbitrary categories has interesting connotations and possible consequences. I think this quote stood out to me because I heard the white horse paradox when I was younger and as a kid, I thought it was hilarious. I think Gleick\u2019s contextualization of this classic question is super interesting I would have never thought to question the system of written language.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A quote that stood out most to me was from the Chinese philosopher Gongsun Long discussed in Gleick\u2019s \u201cPersistence of The Word\u201d. The quote poses a question: “Can it be that a white horse is not a horse?” Long elaborates on his question, \u201cHorse is that by means of which one names the shape. \u201cWhite … <\/p>\n