Strings, in our manner of speaking, sometimes interact with entities. They can affect entities in four ways. (1) A string is a physical thing, so it can have a physical impact. (2) A string is a pattern, so it can impress, print,
or "inscribe" a similar pattern on an entity in many different ways. (3 and 4) A string can change an entity in a more fundamental way than mere inscription-it can cause it to do something or give it the ability to do new things that it could not do before. This is called "communicating," and it can be done in two ways: (3) a string can communicate "mechanically," as
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