On words as worn-out coins

We like to think language is simple.

Words, we assume, are neat little signs, clearly pointing us toward a reality we all share.

But language is more than a transparent lens, more than a window to a reality outside of us, or even a mirror that reflects the world exactly as it is. It’s an elaborate system of signs, a map and not the territory.

Language is also a currency.

Words are something we use, exchange, and alter. Language is a tool to trade knowledge, coordinate efforts, cause change, and build worlds - imaginary first, then tangible.

Through words, we create visions of the future, potential realities, and alternative possibilities.

But this same language that brings us together and connects us also shapes, and sometimes limits, how we understand the world. Words influence how we think and perceive - and our thinking and experiences, in turn, shape the words we choose.

Words aren’t just labels, they’re frameworks. They construct reality as much as they reflect it.

But like coins to a currency, as we use and exchange them, words and concepts wear down. As they pass through countless hands, they lose their precision, the sharpness they once had gradually fades. 

Over time, we stop noticing the details and start focusing only on their weight. They become dull sounds, stripped of their original meaning, value, and wisdom. We keep using them, but we’ve forgotten what they used to look like.

We rarely pause to consider the words we speak.

We assume a shared understanding, tossing terms and phrases around without question. They’re so embedded in our language that we take them for granted, neglecting their deeper significance.

In Nietzsche’s words, ‘truths are illusions we’ve forgotten are illusions; metaphors worn out and without power, like coins that have lost their pictures and now matter only as metal, no longer as coins.”

But words still carry value, we just need to stop and look closer.

Words still matter, and only by being more considerate towards the language we use, can we rediscover the wisdom engraved on those old, worn-out coins.