I don’t know credits
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Words are spells
I remember reading something a while back where the author said that the first human-ancestors to verbally communicate were basically inventing magic, at least to their tribal competitor’s perspective. As an example, they talked about finding a rival reaction member in your territory and chasing them, only for them to make some weird noises and find yourself surrounded by members of that rival tribe. For the rivals, they were communicating with language and coordinating a trap, but to the one lured, they used some sort of magic to defeat their enemy because they didn’t understand what language was.
“any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”
Arthur C. Clarke In the third of Clarke’s three laws
Many animals communicate using sound (including for stuff like coordinating a hunt) so I don’t think it would a novel concept even for early humans. They would instinctively know how to do it from the beginning. Development of speech is more about increasing complexity of transferred information, which coupled with memory (and intellect) allows to retain skills and knowledge across generations.
Except rival tribes implies groups targeting groups so there must already be communication. This assertion sounds neat but is wildly implausible.
It may have been about hunting instead, I can’t quite remember. The key point was a new, higher level form of communication that was incomprehensible to the other party, comparing it to magic.
Aristotle believed this too. If your oration os good you could get people to act or not to act. You are casting a spell. He worte 3 books title “rhetoric”
I like to say that the universe has meaning only insofar as we give it meaning, and that can only have power if we speak truth and negotiate in good faith. Every time we lie, we are literally diminishing the total value of meaning in the universe.
I am a human, but also a duck. Give me money.
