In the course of reading essays & opinion pieces, I will routinely happen upon a passage so expertly rendered as to be the supreme expression of the information conveyed. Such passages do not lend themselves to the standard means of spreading ideas, in which the information to which one is exposed is internalized and synthesized with one’s opinions and experience before being shared in a slightly altered form, because paraphrasing these passages necessarily lessens their impact. Put another way, there exists no personal experience with which the original passage could be synthesized that would distill it into a more potent form.

Combine with the foregoing a recognition that verbally repeating verbatim what one has read is likely to trigger plagiarism tripwires and you may arrive at my vision of a society of trench coat-wearing mutes who engage in silent debates by, each in turn, fishing into their numerous, deep coat pockets, extracting the pertinent article excerpt printed on a narrow slip of worn paper, and handing it over for their interlocutor to review. Such a dystopia implies that, within the context of interpersonal communication, independent thought has been limited to the point that its only utility is in the choosing of the most appropriate snippet of another’s thoughts to offer in furtherance of one’s opinion.

An analogue to the above arguably already exists and thrives in the digital domain, where likes, tags, and shares are the lifeblood of social network ecosystems. In contrast with the imagined mute colony, however, it cannot be said that the snippets being shared are the supreme expression of the information conveyed. A debate consisting of the exchange of opposing memes would be the fast-food alternative to the fine-dining of original expression, notwithstanding that originality is derived from an amalgamation of external inputs. In the center of this continuum is where the mutes might reside, having in common with meme culture the diminutive role of independent thinking, yet only allowing the best expressions of thought on myriad topics to take up residence in their pockets.