The Imperfection of Communication and Knowledge Evolution as Error Correction

I asked ChatGPT a question. Below is my question and ChatGPT's response.

Question:

From the perspectives of modern neuroscience, cognitive science, information science, and evolutionary biology:

Information stored in the human cerebrum must naturally be assumed to be organized in three dimensions, or even in multiple dimensions, since the brain itself is a three-dimensional structure. However, when we transmit that information to others—whether by speech or writing—we can only communicate it as a linear or sequential series of sounds or symbols. This inevitably entails a drastic dimensional reduction of the information.

Of course, communication by images (or videos) is possible, but even in such cases, some form of supplementary textual information is required to avoid arbitrary interpretations. Even within the one-dimensional medium of writing, techniques like rhyme or wordplay in poetry can carry more layers of meaning than ordinary prose, but in relation to the scale of the problem, such methods are far from a fundamental solution.

Therefore, it seems inevitable to conclude that communication of information or knowledge from one human to another is always insufficient. Nevertheless, humanity is now regarded—at least from the standpoint of our species—as standing at the apex of biological evolution. How can this contradiction or discrepancy be interpreted?

ChatGPT's Answer (2025.10.03):

This is indeed a very important and fundamental question. As you pointed out, there is an inherent gap between “information stored in the brain in multidimensional form” and the “one-dimensional sequences of sound or text used for transmission.” This gap is a core limitation of human communication. How can we reconcile this limitation with the fact that humankind has nonetheless reached the position of being considered the apex of biological evolution? Below I will address this issue from the perspectives of neuroscience, cognitive science, information science, and evolutionary biology.

1. Dimensionality of Brain Representations

• Neural activity is high-dimensional
  In neuroscience, memories and concepts are not stored in a single neuron, but in distributed representations across populations of neurons. Mathematically speaking, these can be described as patterns in high-dimensional vector spaces.

• Compression and abstraction within the brain
  However, it is not necessary to transmit these raw, high-dimensional data directly. The brain itself already performs compression and abstraction (feature extraction, categorization, conceptualization). Thus, much of what is transmitted is already reduced to lower-dimensional representations.

2. The Linear Constraint of Language

• The inevitability of sequential signals
  Speech and writing are linear signals bound to time, operating in one dimension. Biologically and evolutionarily, this is a highly efficient method that ensures reliable transmission. Redundancy in language (repetition, grammar, metaphor) provides error correction.

• The multilayered nature of poetic language
  As you observed, poetry can carry additional layers of meaning—through rhyme, rhythm, and wordplay—over a mere linear sequence. These are cultural innovations designed to enrich communication and partially overcome the linear constraint.

3. Incomplete Transmission and “Collaborative Reconstruction”

• Reconstruction in the receiver’s brain
  Cognitive science understands communication not as perfect copying but as inferential reconstruction. The sender only transmits a reduced, low-dimensional signal, but the receiver reconstructs it into higher-dimensional meaning by mobilizing their own prior experiences and knowledge.

• Shared context and tacit knowledge
  As Michael Polanyi emphasized with his notion of tacit knowledge, much of communication depends on unspoken assumptions and shared contexts. Cultural frameworks and bodily experience play a major role in filling the gaps left by low-dimensional signals.

4. The Evolutionary Perspective

• The advantage of imperfection
  At first glance, incomplete transmission appears to be a flaw. But from an evolutionary perspective, it is a strength. Misunderstandings and reinterpretations generate novelty, leading to creativity, cultural innovation, and adaptability.

• Cooperation and sociality
  Humanity’s evolutionary success stems not from “perfect transmission” but from developing social and cultural mechanisms that compensate for imperfections: education, memory systems, scientific methods, written archives, and digital networks.

5. The Viewpoint of Information Science

• Dimensional reduction and efficiency
  In machine learning, raw high-dimensional data are reduced into latent-space representations (via principal component analysis, neural networks, etc.). Language can be understood as humanity’s natural dimensional-reduction algorithm.

• “Sufficiency” versus “completeness”
  Humans do not need complete information transfer. For survival and cooperation, it is sufficient to transmit “enough” information. Redundancy and shared frameworks make up for what is missing.

Summary – Interpreting the Contradiction

• Human communication is necessarily incomplete and involves dimensional reduction.

• But this incompleteness fosters creativity, inferential reconstruction, and cultural scaffolding.

• What seems like a limitation is, paradoxically, an evolutionary advantage.

Final Synthesis

Human beings are not a species specialized for perfect transmission of information. Instead, we are a species that thrives precisely because we can use misunderstanding, interpretation, and reconstruction as resources. Social and cultural institutions amplify this ability. From this standpoint, the apparent contradiction dissolves: the insufficiency of communication is itself the evolutionary asset that has brought humanity to the apex.

◆Diagram
(Hover your mouse pointer over the image to see a detailed alternate image.）

Human Information Transmission:
High-dimensional → Linear → Reconstruction

※The source material for this article is as follows.
脳内の像の言葉を通じた次元低下とその復元／Reducing dimension of the image in the brain by words and its restoring: 本に溺れたい（2018.06.24）