AN EXCERPT FROM MUSINGS ON OUR GIFT, RECORDED BY SCHOLAR DELVING-THOUGHT:

Context is everything. This is because we Understand. Understanding is how we recognize ourselves, our neighbors, and our world. But what happens if we Understand something we lack context for? Something we know nothing about, and have never experienced? It is reduced. Abstracted in the most direct possible terms, stripped of nuance we would not comprehend. For most, such an idea feels absurd, but that is because we live and interact with those who share our perspective, our context. They know much of what we know, and if either party lacks knowledge, it need only be provided.

However, it is rather simple to demonstrate the power context holds over our understanding. One needs only to start discussing colors with those outside their own species. I am fortunate enough to perceive many colors, but there are those who know fewer, and some who see more. One of the latter is a colleague of mine, a dove. It loves to speak of its life-mate, but will often mention features that I cannot see. I once asked what these invisible markings looked like, and I was entirely incapable of envisioning them. The markings were an iridescent pattern of colors I'd never seen, and so my Understanding was delivered in those terms.

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"My mate's wings are spattered with blacks and grays and whites and [other colors]." The statement struck me as odd, so I repeated it back to my friend. It informed me that it had listed at least three more shades in its description, and tried to explain what they looked like. "The first color is similar to a second color, just a few shades closer to a third color from violet." I stopped the dove there, having learned my lesson.

To Understand is not to know, but rather to know if you know, and what you know. And there are some things you will never know.