Models of Meaning

The model, you said, is likely a finite model. We're looking for a way to control our universe, in which our destiny is here, looking into different things. , To construct a model from a set of symbols -- or bits requires some amount of energy. We are going to make this a bit more formal. Suppose we have a symbol S that refers to a set of relations. These relations can be considered as scenes from the world we live in. They may be anything. In order to interpret a symbol S into a set of these scenes, we need to spend some mental energy -- Z. This energy is what makes interpretation a limited possibility.

So, when we have a symbol, we cannot interpret it in all possible ways. There are finite ways to interpret a symbol, you say.

No, the number of interpretations may be infinite but to reach these, we need infinite energy. That energy we lack. Suppose Alexander the Great uttered something as his last words. There are infinite ways to interpret Alexander's last words: But his generals lacked that infinite energy.

So we resort to the easiest interpretation?

Yes. When I say you apple and point to something, it's easiest to interpret that utterance as referring to the fruit on the table. If I utter the same word in a mall pointing to a store with an Apple logo, you don't interpret it as a fruit, because at that point, making the fruit interpretation requires more Z.