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Pikachu, his eyes enormous. Pikachu and Bulbasaur at the hidden village
- Smaug123 5y agoWasn't sure if Hacker News would like this one, but I found it absolutely mind-blowing. You know the "Darmok" episode of Star Trek: TNG, where our plucky heroes get in trouble because they can't communicate with an alien race? They find their universal translator machine is working perfectly, but is producing gibberish, and eventually they realise that the aliens talk only in historical metaphors and allusions which they lack the cultural context to understand. I always thought this sounded so silly and implausible. But Miëtek said "Pikachu, his eyes enormous", and my mind expanded: we do this all the time! How often have you replied to someone with a gif? > The dog, at the kitchen table, enwreathed in flame. Try universal-translatoring that without knowing what picture it's referring to!
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