mattlandau

Steps of cathedral
I look down from above
Some people enter

Forest of thoughts
Igniting a controlled burn
Metacognition

You probably haven’t heard of Blissymbolics. It is an obscure writing system invented 50 years ago, which is now used mainly for special populations that would ordinarily lack language capabilities (see augmentative and assistive communication). The even older dream, which up to now was impossible but thanks to the internet is now possible (though at this point, sadly, not probable), is to implement a universal langauge in hopes of a better world that may arise given such a foundation. Blissymbolics is the easiest way to achieve this for a number of reasons. There is no phonology, only symbols, thus it will not cause langauge death. It is quite artful, and very easy to learn due to the ingenious denotative value of the symbols (I suppose, properly speaking, it’s not so much symbols as indices, which take advantage of analagous reasoning in deciphering a word or sentence). I truely believe this is a worth while goal because the language barriers are a great hinderance to mutual understanding in this world. My hope is that this movement would have the potential to engender even greater hope in a large portion of the world’s population. Certainly, there are obstacles. The technology isn’t quite there (ie no standardized font and the need for a different input method), some people are reluctant to learn something new, there isn’t a great market for international communication (though I’d like to create one), and last but not least, it seems like a silly idea. It only struck me because I’ve been studying linguistics. But there it is, a possible future. And, like Charles K. Bliss, the inventor of the system, I’m inclined to dedicate my life to seeing it become a universal standard. I’m taking steps in that direction as we speak. Indeed, what am I doing to make this dream a reality? Several things, first, there’s my website www.activebliss.com (see also thinkforums.org), then there’s me posting on sites such as these in hopes of inspiring people to have a cautious if active hope, and thirdly, I’m directing a film which will make use of Bliss’s symbols. Anyhow, I’d love to hear from any one else who’d like to join me in this, a silent revolution. Please email me at mattlandau@activebliss.com. Not only would I be more than happy to answer any questions, but I’d also like to hear your ideas for peaceful revolutions in hopes that we might be mutually beneficial to each other. So have a good day, and, of course, spread the word.

You probably haven’t heard of Blissymbolics. It is a writing system. The dream, which up to now was impossible but thanks to the internet is now possible, is for it to become universally adopted. There is no phonology, only symbols. It is quite nice, and quite easy to learn due to the obvious denotative value of most of the symbols (I suppose, properly speaking, it’s not so much symbols as indices, which takes advantage of analagous sorts of reasoning in deciphering a word). Anyhow, I think this is worth while as the language barrier is a great hinderance to mutual understanding in this world, so this movement in the making has the potential to engender hope to those who want and/or need hope. So, what am I doing to make this dream a reality? Several things, first, there’s my website www.activebliss.com, then there’s me posting on sites such as these in hopes of inspiring people that hope is real, and thirdly, I’m directing a short film which will make use of these symbols. Anyhow, I’d love to hear from any one else who’d like to join me in this, a silent revolution. Please email me at mattlandau@activebliss.com. Not only would I be more than happy to answer any questions, but I’d also like to hear your ideas for movements in hopes that we might be mutually beneficial to each other. So have a good day, and, of course, spread the word.