

My YC idea:  User-created-language - rokhayakebe

What if we could communicate beyond words?
The idea is fairly simple. Creating a database of images for each word. For each word in the dictionary their will be images (that best describe it) uploaded by users. Now someone can write a a letter and most of the words, if not all, will be converted into images and sent to the recipient who can also decipher the message after attempting to read it.
I want to create a real interaction in messages. One that goes beyond words. 
To make it smart, I will use the a YCnews voting style for each image. <p>BTW, I can use one more hacker<p>
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veritas
Some criticism:

What would be the point? Sure it might be technically interesting to code etc.
but this just introduces inefficiency to communication.

There's a reason we evolved from cave paintings and hieroglyphics to written
form.

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rokhayakebe
It is truth that we have evolved, but if you want to take it in that sense.
Imagine 5000 years from now, would you think it will be easier for human
beings to read those images or English, Chinese? Imagine a lady in Romania, a
kid in Senegal (West Africa) and a adult in Antartica. If they all received
the same message in images or plain English ? Which one would they be more apt
to understand assuming they never spoke or heard english? The point is not
even that. I think we can make messages say more and be more interactive.
That's just my thought and I like your constructive criticism

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veritas
I agree there are slight advantages to images, but there is still something
lost in translation.

How would explain a concept such as searching? Or a hyperlink?

Granted those are some contrived examples, but whatever problems we have with
text and losses in translation, we'll also have (perhaps to a lesser extent,
perhaps to a greater extent) in picture messaging.

These are just my 2 cents.

5000 years from now, I hope we would have advanced enough to instantly
translate (correctly) from one language to another. Or just speak one
language.

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carter
I agree. There are must be some losses in translation, cos pictures are just
approximations to the elements of thinking process. Pictures have some "cross-
platform" features, but their expression power much lower than language's. Ex.
consider that language 1 has expresson power x, pictures have expression power
y (x > y). And language 2 has expression power z (x = z). Then we're trying to
reduce x to y and then take it to z again.

Instead of this we must take x to w (w > x) and then reduce w to z. A human
translator going exactly this way.

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tx
I remember reading about a startup in Israel doing exactly what you are
describing. Their product is positioned as an alternative language for
faster/easier texting on cell phones.

(if I remember correctly)

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tx
Here: <http://www.zlango.com>

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Shooter
<http://www.uncov.com/2007/9/27/zlango-s-picture-language>

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zeka
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character>

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Nate
There's a professor at Stanford, Robert Horn, who wrote a book called "Visual
Language" which seems interesting.

You can view sample pages here:

<http://www.macrovu.com/VLBkExmplPgsMenu.html>

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nanijoe
I think the CIA or KGB might have a job for you :)

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snorkel
You mean Flickr tags?

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lee
You might want to collaborate with some people who are building existing
lexicographical infrastructures. Have a look at this TED talk:
<http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/161> . You might also want to
check out E. O. Wilson's Encyclopedia of Life at <http://www.eol.org/> . (He's
also got a TED talk where he won the TED prize for the year.) Both of these
people are doing grand, sweeping thinking about ways to use the web to
redefine the way we think and use language, pictures and taxonomy, all of
which you'll need to think about as you're developing this idea. You might see
if you can eventually get some phone time with them and see how they solved
similar problems you may encounter, like a structure for crowdsourcing. I'd
love to see how this idea develops! I'll be very interested to see how you
illustrate abstractions. Good luck!

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some
Cool!

