"Language is the first and last structure of madness."
-M. Foucault

Extensions/Shrinkage

When people accustomed to the signs and symbols in Western culture look at these two lines, they are typically tricked by this optical illusion, assuming the line AB is longer than CD.

To explain further, forms (in language, architecture, mathematics, ect) are recognized as legitimate meaning bearing signs and symbols when they fit structurally into respective codes, in this case in opposition to each other. A great deal of Western culture's structure is based on this comparative/oppositional practice of understanding.

"An infinitude of codes based on such oppositions undergrids (the idea of a grid itself is a good example) human cultures and knowledge systems, guiding how people tell stories and how they develop theories of the universe."
- Marcel Danesi

How many pieces does it take to make a whole?

Every person is trying to create an amalgamation of experiences sifted through themselves to build/add to a language. So in relation to myself: I am trying to create within a structure (pick one) and add to a network of ideas, while trying to add to the existing structure-attempting to become fluent in a multitude of languages while creating and translating to express in the clearest way possible.

"Language is to us (humans), as a shell is to a mollusk."
-Francis Ponge