When I say or write something, there are actually a whole lot of different things I am communicating. The propositional content (i.e., the verbal information I'm trying to convey) is only one part of it. Another part is stuff about me, the communicator. Everyone knows this. It's a function of the fact there are so many different well-formed ways to say the same basic thing, from e.g. "I was attacked by a bear!" to "Goddamn bear tried to kill me!" to "That ursine juggernaut did essay to sup upon my person!" and so on.
David Foster WallaceI miss everyone. I can remember being young and feeling a thing and identifying it as homesickness, and then thinking well now thatโs odd, isnโt it, because I was home, all the time. What on earth are we to make of that?
David Foster WallaceI never, even for a moment, doubted what theyโd told me. This is why it is that adults and even parents can, unwittingly, be cruel: they cannot imagine doubtโs complete absence. They have forgotten.
David Foster Wallace