Reading is supposed to be simple for the moderately literate. But I’ve been having trouble lately, mostly due to the evaporation of serifs, those curious little flourishes that help distinguish certain letters from other ones. A lowercase “l” and a capital “I” are not the same, they can't be. One is a vowel, another a consonant. Too bad that is only the beginning of your problems.
While it’s true that those letters blend in, creating a major dilemma for the world’s finest cryptographers, there is more to worry about. Anyone who comes in contact with these pesky lines is suddenly at a serious comprehension loss. However, when the possibilities are limited to two, you’ll figure it out soon. It’s a coin flip. Unfortunately, things can get substantially worse and quickly.
In addition to the two letters, you could be looking at a vertical dash, a number 1, a simple line, a misshapen “T” or a collapsing “V.” Symbols can only be symbolic if they have a single definition. They can’t be mistaken for something else. I don’t gaze into the gaze of a world-weary alligator and see the watering eyes of a crocodile. That’s because I know the difference between the two creatures. Why can’t communication be the same way? What’s not to understand?
Everything, it seems.
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