silence : clarity :: noise

the lexicidal dissonance of 2024

in 2024, a faction emerged, convinced that words were chains binding thought. they believed that silence could bloom: silence : clarity :: noise : confusion. their rebellion began subtly, like shadows creeping into light, muting voices and stifling expression. cafés became tombs of stillness, where gestures replaced conversation: gesture : dialogue :: stillness : communication. families transformed into clans of the unspoken, crafting symbols to bridge gaps. schools morphed into arenas of physicality, learning through movement rather than words: movement : education :: silence : knowledge.

without articulation, conflicts flared. grocery aisles became battlegrounds of frustration: chaos : shopping :: misunderstanding : conflict. art withered, leaving behind raw expressions devoid of narrative. yet, in this silence, creativity found new forms, painting vibrant murals that screamed with unvoiced emotion: mural : expression :: silence : depth. community rituals blossomed in quietude, where shared meals became sacred moments of understanding: ritual : connection :: dinner : presence. love transformed into intimate exchanges, gestures firing like bullets, each action carrying weight: gesture : intimacy :: silence : understanding.

a yearning for sound emerged, not to reclaim language but to explore primal tones, echoes of humanity breaking free: sound : exploration :: silence : discovery. the lexicidal fervor waned, revealing a sharper edge of being, a blend of sound and silence: revolver : communication :: silence : essence.

the lexicidal revolution

now, envision a future unfurling over millennia, where the lexicidal dream twists into a viral nightmare: silence : chaos :: thought : contagion. in their quest to obliterate language, revolutionaries unwittingly birthed a new parasite: language : host :: silence : infection. gestures mutate into frenetic memes, each flick and nod becoming a primitive code: gesture : meme :: silence : instinct. cities pulse with unsaid meanings, a chaotic symphony of movement, where art becomes visceral graffiti scrawled across forgotten walls: graffiti : expression :: silence : scream.

the human mind evolves into a battleground, where competing impulses clash, each iteration of meaning a new bullet in the chamber: impulse : thought :: chaos : clarity. connection becomes a distortion, instincts driving expression into a wild dance of existence: instinct : connection :: movement : survival. humanity spirals into a grotesque landscape, where silence cloaks understanding and meaning slips through fingers like sand: silence : disguise :: meaning : abyss.

one more idea: the garden of whispers

imagine a world where whispers reign, where spoken words fade into myth. each utterance becomes a rare shot fired, echoing only in the presence of true connection: whisper : connection :: shot : rarity. communication evolves into an intricate ballet of subtlety, where intention guides meaning: intention : meaning :: whisper : dance. in this garden, trust cultivates understanding, each gesture an offering, each silence a trigger: trust : connection :: gesture : offering. here, language becomes an artifact, cherished yet seldom used, a relic of a past era: artifact : memory :: silence : presence. the whispers ricochet through life, creating a barrage of existence, delicate yet profound: whisper : barrage :: silence : depth. humanity thrives in this new ecology, where connection flourishes in the quiet spaces between sound, embracing the beauty of the unspoken: connection : ecosystem :: silence : beauty.

You're not my new boss,

Kim says.

You're just my boss. This isn't my first day at all. I've been working here for… well, it must be over a decade, right?

I think I've been a professional antimemetics researcher since at least the mid-2000s.

An antimeme is an idea with self-censoring properties; an idea which, by its intrinsic nature, discourages or prevents people from spreading it.