In spite of the facetiously cynical opinion, bolstered by empirical truth, that concludes last week’s post, I think most people would prefer to understand what it is they believe than to opt for the ignorant alternative. Besides the contentment afforded those who answer their internal inquiries, introspective individuals are also well-equipped to defend their beliefs against dissidents.

But even if everyone resolved to only believe things they were conversant with, tens of hectares would still be allocated for the perpetuation of invisible, menacing species that celebrate disorder in the universe. Much of the grief would be, and is, owed to language. At best, language is a tool of abstraction, a means of satisfactorily conveying to another what we believe. At worst, it proves so inadequate at fulfilling this role that we are led to reluctantly part ways with our belief in favor of one easier to articulate.

Our willingness to supplant one belief with another–sacrificing fidelity for ease of conveyance–is as much a testament to the shortcomings of language as it is an indication of how insatiable our desire to communicate. The politics and advertising industries tap this aspect of the human condition with greater fervor than mining companies display when raping land. A campaign slogan, succinct and sans subtlety, spreads through the population like an antibiotic-resistant disease–the Black Death returns in the form of a soundbite earworm.

If there is consolation to be found in this apparently degenerative existence, it may lie in the recognition that, despite the inhospitable environment, new beliefs too obscure and intricate to put in words are continually–inexplicably–forming. Reprieve is also on offer for those who accept that the eventual erosion of these obscure beliefs is inevitable. True, a belief reasserts its existence each time it’s called to mind, but the act of recollection is itself rife with erosive forces. Play through the stereo an album you haven’t heard since your childhood and the songs will remind you of how you felt in your youth, but play the album regularly and its power to send you back in time wanes.