Summary
This article follows the linguistic and cultural journey from the Dutch words deel and delen (“part” and “to share”) to a vision of future communication where humans might exchange thoughts directly. It explores how language evolved from gestures and sounds to symbolic systems and, potentially, to neural exchange. The piece also reflects on how silence and reading might transform in such a world and how life expectancy has changed—from 30 years in the Bronze Age to 80 today, with biological and post-biological futures extending that horizon.
Context and Scope
The narrative traces a continuous thread across roughly eight millennia—from the Proto-Indo-European linguistic roots of deel to speculative neurocommunication centuries ahead. It weaves together historical linguistics, anthropology, and futurist thought while remaining anchored in verified data on life expectancy from reputable scientific sources. Geographic focus is broadly European, with global comparisons where relevant. All terms and acronyms are explained on first use for clarity.
Narrative
Translation and Early Linguistic Observations
A short Dutch message about a missing cat included:
“Al 2 maanden is onze poes op avontuur… Ze is klein, bijna 17 jaar, niet gechipt.”
Translation: “Our cat has been on an adventure for two months… She is small, almost 17 years old, not chipped.”
From this everyday text came the analysis of the verb delen (“to share”) and its participle gedeeld (“shared”), revealing a doorway into linguistic history.
Etymology and Morphology: deel / delen
Deel means “part” and forms the base of delen, “to share,” literally “to make into parts.” The participle gedeeld adds the prefix ge- and the suffix -d, a typical Dutch construction for completed actions.
Both words descend from Proto-Germanic dailiz (part) and dailijaną (to divide), themselves drawn from the Proto-Indo-European root dai- or deh₂(i)-, meaning “divide” or “give.” Related words survive in other languages: English deal, German Teil/teilen, and Swedish del/dela. The dental consonant “d” mirrors the physical action of cutting or dividing—a sound echoing its gesture.
The Evolution of Communication
Human expression appears to have advanced through three broad stages:
- Embodied sound: vocal gestures closely tied to physical actions.
- Symbolic language: abstract words representing ideas rather than actions.
- Conceptual transmission (future stage): potential direct sharing of meaning or imagery between minds without spoken or written symbols.
If realized, this would transform communication from sequential speech to simultaneous mutual understanding.
Mechanisms Enabling Direct Concept Sharing
Neurotechnology already hints at early steps. Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) record electrical activity through electrodes or magnetic sensors and translate it into digital signals. Future versions could map precise neural patterns for ideas, emotions, or sensory memories.
A communication system of this kind would require:
- Reading thought patterns safely and accurately.
- Encoding them into a shared mental “language.”
- Stimulating another brain to reproduce equivalent patterns.
Research projects such as Neuralink and BrainNet show basic feasibility: limited transfer of visual or motor information between individuals. The leap to full conceptual transfer remains hypothetical.
What Does “Exchange of Presences” Mean?
“Presence” refers to the felt experience of being—a combination of perception, emotion, and intention. An exchange of presences could occur at three levels:
- Physical: synchronized neural rhythms linking attention.
- Cognitive: reconstruction of another’s mental state.
- Phenomenological: partial sharing of subjective experience, allowing one to sense what it is like to be another.
Such sharing would blur empathy and identity, raising new ethical questions about privacy and individuality.
Silence Reimagined
In a civilization of direct mental communication, audible speech would fade. Cities might fall quiet except for environmental sounds. Silence would become a social language of respect—a voluntary pause in connection rather than an absence of meaning. People would learn to modulate mental openness much as they now control tone and volume.
Reading, Books, and Mental Literature
Reading would endure but change form. Instead of decoding written words, individuals could “enter” recorded states of mind left by authors—experiencing sensations, emotions, and images directly. Yet conventional text would remain as historical record, artistic discipline, and private meditation. Writing could become a refuge from the constant flow of shared thought, a deliberate act of solitude.
Lifespan Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Ancient world (~2000 BCE): Life expectancy at birth averaged 25–35 years because many children died young. Those who survived childhood might reach 55–60. Studies of Egyptian and Mesopotamian remains confirm similar figures.
Modern era: Global life expectancy today is about 73–80 years. The improvement stems from sanitation, vaccines, antibiotics, and safer childbirth.
Future biological outlook: Even with advanced genetics and regenerative medicine, natural cellular limits suggest a ceiling near 120–130 years.
Post-biological horizon: If technologies emerge to rejuvenate cells indefinitely or preserve consciousness digitally, existence could extend for centuries—perhaps 300–500 years. At that point, “lifespan” would describe continuity of mind more than durability of flesh.
Practical Conclusions
The lineage from deel to delen illustrates the continuity between sharing as division and sharing as connection. Across millennia, language has served as both a tool and a metaphor for cooperation. Its potential endpoint—direct mental exchange—would fulfill the deepest meaning of delen: giving others a part of oneself.
Silence, reading, and life itself would transform under such conditions: silence as communion, reading as immersive empathy, and life as a continuum adjustable by knowledge and choice.
Realistically, humanity may reach about 120 years of healthy life; beyond that, speculation belongs to future science and philosophy.
Sources
- Neuralink (neuralink.com) – Official company site describing high-bandwidth brain–computer interface development.
- “Life Expectancy of Ancient Egyptians,” Egypt Tours Portal (https://www.egypttoursportal.com/articles/life-expectancy-in-ancient-egypt/) – Provides demographic estimates from archaeological studies.
- University College London (UCL) Institute of Archaeology Blog (https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/2015/12/old-age-in-ancient-egypt/) – Discusses age and health data in ancient Egyptian populations.
- Our World in Data (https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy) – Compiles global life expectancy trends from prehistory to present.
- “BrainNet: A Multi-Person Brain-to-Brain Interface,” arXiv:1809.08632 (https://arxiv.org/abs/1809.08632) – Peer-reviewed study demonstrating limited information transfer between human brains.
- World Health Organization (WHO) Data Portal (https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates) – Current verified statistics on global life expectancy.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 