Engaging with any information is a collaborative event and an act of authorship on the part of the reader. As you take in any data it is filtered through your unique perception and subtly changed to create your own personal understanding. It becomes something new to which you have contributed.

Should you pass this information on again, it will be re-flitered through the limitations of language, the medium of communication and the context with in which it is delivered before it even reaches another perception to create new understanding. We live in a world of Chinese whispers, filtered and embellished by our information delivery systems and the compilation of experiences, ideas and understandings that make up those that feed them. 

Think back to an example of your own personal understanding of the conflict between intention and perception. Everyone has one (if you recon you don’t you must be a damn telepath… and good for you! That’s super kewl, we should hang out sometime). Someone hearing something other than what you had hoped to be saying and you’re court in that moment of realisation. You don’t quite feel like you can trust your words not to make it worse any more and find yourself tripping over your nervous tongue crippled by the unexpected hurt or anger in your recipients eyes. Saying “that sounded wrong” or “that’s not what I meant” seems trite and insincere in your panic…

Because of that moment, no one understands what I mean quite the way you do, and in its way that’s kind of beautiful.