"Compression" (and "Extrapolation")

What is Compression?

Compression is what happens when a complex thought is bundled into an abstract form for easier expression (doing so comes with some possible trade offs).

Although it is easier to express in this way (compared to fully expanding upon an idea), when that same idea is reflected upon, there is a risk that meaning becomes lost in translation.

...

The risk is that you forget what you were trying to express because the distance between who you were when you compressed that idea and who you are now, is too great.

Compression is like sending a text rather than talking face to face; it's effective, great in certain instances, however, sometimes that fullness is missing.

Or,

have you ever forgotten your password so you relied on your hint but your password hint was too coded for you to understand it?

Consider cultural adages: those short memorable statements of truth. They can feel meaningless in their compressed form. You only "get it" when you have an experience that corroborates the adage's story.

Why does this matter? Who cares if I compress?

Compression in journaling could signify an inability to give the concept its proper justice causing you to settle for a compression in its place. Perhaps it's a lack of full understanding altogether. Maybe there's fear in pulling out the entire issue. Who knows, but you?

I'd like to be very careful of giving compression a negative connotation. I assure you, its connotation is neutral. Whether compression is harmful or helpful is subjective to that journal keeper. You know yourself, I'm not here to be the great sorter of "good" vs "bad" compression, I'm just here to provide the language.

Examples Of Compression (From my journal entries)

I'll use the journal entry post, Existential Auntie to guide this lexicon item.

Don't worry, you won't need to read that entire post, (though it is quite short). I'll quote the relevant parts for you.

The quoted portion will be color coded in brown and I will make the segments that signify the concept of compression bold and underlined.

Compression by Quotation

"As I write this, a dormant thought is reilluminating, a 'happening' I've been pondering over..."

This is a compressed sentence from the opening of Existential Auntie.

The compression in this sentence is shown in the use of quotes around the word "happening". I used quotes around "happening" to signify my uncertainty in the use of that word. I was looking to describe an idea, not just any idea, one that felt more like a foresight into an action I'd take, (that action being me posting about what I'd been pondering over).

Explaining all of that is a feat (although I guess I just extrapolated it here didn't I 😅)

That feat, (extrapolation) requires that I have all the words and the ability to structure them in such a way that makes the concept that I'm calling a "happening" both crystal clear and drinkable for my future self so I accepted "happening" in place of a full extrapolation.

Compression by Hyphen

"Now, I sort of want to shelve this auntie story and concentrate on this new exciting-by-novelty thought train..."

Here's another example of compression. I created this little hyphen-strung phrase to denote that there was more here than what I wanted to dig into.

I could have extrapolated and explained the novelty I was experiencing and even give in to the impulse to pause my writing and follow the rabbit into an entirely new post... But, for sake of capturing my thoughts while they were in the frame, I continued to write Existential Auntie.

(Sidebar: Isn't it sort of interesting how these compressions speak to my future self telling me "I wasn't sure how to articulate myself here" or "I was rapid-firing out the words and this is what I came up with, but trust me, there's more").

I've added "compression" to the list of "non-journaled communication" examples.