I wrote: "The notion that arises in a reader's mind as he reads something is often very different from the notion in the mind of the writer when he wrote it."
William asked: "How do you know it's different? I'd agree if you would say "could be different from..." To assume it often is different is no different from saying is often not different. Wc" When I composed that sentence in my mind, the word my inner voice was stressing was 'very'. "The notion is often VERY different from the notion in the mind of the writer. . ." I should have upper-cased it in my posting. I believe that any two given notions are ALWAYS different to some degree, and often VERY different. If you, a savant about the city, hear the word 'Chicago', a stream of indeterminate, indefinite, multiplex and transitory notions passes through your mind. One could argue that, strictly speaking, you cannot "know" that your streaming notion is different from what would stream through the mind of a given non-literate Nepalese shepherd who heard 'Chicago' right now. But I myself would accept your insistence that you DO know the two streams of notion are different. I feel the most interesting philosophy begins with what we honestly believe. For example, I would waste little time arguing with a solipsist. ************** Make your summer sizzle with fast and easy recipes for the grill. (http://food.aol.com/grilling?ncid=emlcntusfood00000006)
