TOWER OF BABEL 1963.

Abstract

The one-eyed man is king in the country of the blind; but who is king where all are blind? In writing we must use symbols which transmit or obscure meaning. Likewise the use of abbreviations exercises a kind of shorthand which aims at conserving time, space, and energy. Abbreviations may confuse or clarify. But, there are a number of important difficulties and there are a whole series of problems introduced by the use and abuse of abbreviations. Abbreviations for the uninitiated present a plague and a vexation of a kind which is illustrated by the frustration one feels in a foreign land where he cannot speak the language or cannot understand it with facility. This gives the sensitive person the same appalling sense of deprivation and loneliness which constitutes so large a part of the tragic experience of deafness. Abbreviations trouble us when we are not familiar with them. Almost