Hi Jim,
I understand your chuckle because my argumenting is quite unusual and many don't agree. But there is of course, as you certainly know, a difference between understanding and agreeing with something. I only ask to be understood. Your reply shows (to me) that you haven't understood the idea behind the argumenting.
Allow me to give it another try.
My point is a very sensitive one. To understand my point we have to go all the way down to the bone of it. The only thing stored on computers is magnetic metal parts. We need lots of interfaces of all kind to manipulate and transform these magnetic metal parts into something that makes sense to our senses and to our minds (which in its essence is a fabulous achievement for mankind). Without all the interfaces these magnetic particles on hard disks are worthless, they have no meaning nor value. You can compare it with the first fax machine. designing and manufacturing he first fax machine cost thousands and thousands of dollars but the machine was useless until the next fax machine was manufactured and connected to it.
I agree to the fact that the whole message had to be stored on the/your computer but nevertheless was it useless until you started reading these manipulated bits and bytes. From the very moment that your eyes meet the light contrasts on your screen, YOUR human "interfaces" start manipulating and transforming the impressions, ergo you start giving it a meaning. Being more precise: your eyes are one of the "interfaces" that YOU use to take in the light shapes. You use your brains to interpret, understand and agree. I have nothing to do with that.
You are right again that I ATTEMPT to transmit the meaning. I have no guarantee whatsoever that I will succeed. Nevertheless it is your interpretation, starting from the contrasting dots on your screen up to understanding the content and agreeing (or not) with it and perhaps even become excited about it.
I'd like to give another "more romantic" example. If you look at a red rose and become excited about its beauty, your excitement has nothing to do with the rose itself. The rose is only an object outside of you that catalyzes the excitement in you. The excitement originates from you not from the rose.
[quoting Jim, 26 May 99] If meaning cannot be stored in printed form, then the whole of the world's literature is a pile of meaningless ink and paper.
Yes that's right but only until the eyes of a human meets the content, thinks about it, enlivens it with his feelings of amazement, irritation, excitement, than personalizes it and transforms the idea's into ideals that he wants to realize and acts on it. No computer or software will ever be able to replace that process.
Mankind seems to be on its way to forget that fact and THAT is a very serious problem.