sign

This word itself is an example of what it represents, and a rather superlative one, since it refers in some way to every representation. This also makes it a difficult one to pin down; it has too many uses for any discussion here to approach comprehensive. But here are a couple of examples to perhaps tie the whole idea together. As a verb, it refers most often to scrawling one's name. The symbol-to-referent ratio here is rather extreme. A small scribble, to which I give no more thought than I do the shapes of my keys, represents me, my presence at a transaction, my consent. It reflects my will at a certain moment, and can therefore have serious legal and financial repercussions. This sign is quite serious, worth far more than the attention most of us pay it. In the most mundane sense, a sign is a flat metallic representation of some rule of the road, or perhaps the shape of that road, or to what establishments and locales it may carry us. Here are signs that we do indeed pay attention to, despite how insignificant the content may be in relation to ourselves, or how trivial the reason for our presence on the road. These are the signs we curse, study, memorize, and ultimately are convinced that we need throughout our daily lives. And yet simply think how simple and straightforward each of these signs is. There is a restaurant at the next exit, and so a sign bears the word "restaurant;" the road curves to the left ahead, and so a sign has a line that curves similarly; the law requires us to stop at an intersection, and a sign passes this information along with an abrupt one-word command; Newton is 23 miles away, hence "Newton 23." These signs don't require any thought to create or to mentally process, and yet they (or their absence) frequently inspire rage or a feeling of helplessness in the more passionate travelers. And yet most everyone, those travelers included, are in their every day lives perfectly willing to inscribe their name on countless pieces of paper that represent something far more abstract, pieces of paper that can be used as evidence in a courtroom, and they do so without a pause, let alone a thought.