The Language of Possibility
True notation is not merely shorthand, but a cognitive interface that reshapes the boundaries of thought itself. When we change our symbols, we change our minds.
The most powerful notations subordinate detail rather than hiding it—allowing complexity to recede without disappearing. They create a vocabulary where solutions emerge not from elaborate constructions, but from careful arrangement of the elemental.
Consider the array languages: where others build towers of abstraction, they flatten the landscape. Where others need libraries, they need only primitives. Where others struggle with verbosity, they discover elegance through compression.
This is not about saving characters, but about expanding mental bandwidth. A notation that can be held completely in mind enables thinking that cannot be achieved when thoughts must be constantly retrieved from elsewhere.
The right notation does not merely express existing ideas more efficiently—it makes previously unthinkable thoughts accessible. It creates new territories of understanding by changing the very terrain we traverse.