First of all, nice post.

What about the differences between written and oral communication? I think the biggest gap of understanding comes between what someone says and what someone hears - there are SO many factors that contribute to meaning. Its much easier to write down a very complex idea than it is to say. But like Coelho said in his first post, understanding is really based on personal experiences and perceptions. No matter how well the concept of planes is described, a tribesman will continue to understand them in the terms that he already knows. He wont truly understand until he experiences it for himself.

(the "scheme", or "map" of the outside world that exists into our mind)Wouldnt mapping also exist in varying degrees in the mind of any organism? Making sense out of the world by building mental maps and schemes and gaining a higher order of perception is probably an evolutionary process.

:stoned: