Lois’s answer to “I’ve seen you refer to the gods in the World of 5 Gods as ineffable. I mislike the concept of ineff…” > Likes and Comments
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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, 'ineffable' means "That cannot be expressed or described in language; too great for words; transcending expression; unspeakable, unutterable, inexpressible."
To borrow a metaphor someone made for madness in the Cthulhu mythos, an ant inside of a motherboard doesn't understand what those towers of plastic and silica are for - it only sees a strange, gigantic city. And if, for some reason, it *did* suddenly understand, it would be too much for its brain to handle - hence the madness.
I see ineffability in the same way: something that we, as humans, cannot fully wrap our heads around, regardless of whether it's actually understandable or not on an objective level. We may glimpse and figure out parts of it, but our brains just aren't designed to fit it all in at once.
"Numinous" is another word that captures the concept. I think "sense of the numinous" in fantasy is a pretty exact parallel to "sense of wonder" in science fiction -- and in real science, for that matter.
L.
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Jonathan
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Sep 28, 2022 11:39AM
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, 'ineffable' means "That cannot be expressed or described in language; too great for words; transcending expression; unspeakable, unutterable, inexpressible."
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To borrow a metaphor someone made for madness in the Cthulhu mythos, an ant inside of a motherboard doesn't understand what those towers of plastic and silica are for - it only sees a strange, gigantic city. And if, for some reason, it *did* suddenly understand, it would be too much for its brain to handle - hence the madness. I see ineffability in the same way: something that we, as humans, cannot fully wrap our heads around, regardless of whether it's actually understandable or not on an objective level. We may glimpse and figure out parts of it, but our brains just aren't designed to fit it all in at once.
"Numinous" is another word that captures the concept. I think "sense of the numinous" in fantasy is a pretty exact parallel to "sense of wonder" in science fiction -- and in real science, for that matter.L.
