Translation as Choice

Translation is the choice — this phrase functions as the central slogan of the Device framework. It is worth unpacking precisely.

The Impossibility Theorem

Theorem (informal): Perfect translation between two languages $L_A$ and $L_B$ is impossible if and only if $\mathcal{M}_A \neq \mathcal{M}_B$, where $\mathcal{M}_X$ is the mental state space carved by language $X$.

Proof sketch: Suppose perfect translation existed: a bijection $T: L_A \to L_B$ such that $\phi_B(T(w)) = \phi_A(w)$ for all $w \in L_A$. Since $\phi_A$ and $\phi_B$ compress $\mathcal{M}$ differently, there exist states $m \in \mathcal{M}$ where $\phi_A^{-1}(\phi_A(m)) \neq \phi_B^{-1}(\phi_B(m))$. Hence $T$ cannot be simultaneously structure-preserving in both directions. $\square$

This is not a failure of translators. It is a structural fact about language.

Choice as Agency

If translation cannot be perfect, it must be chosen. Every translation is an act of interpretation — an assertion about which aspects of the source mental state to preserve.

This reframes translation as an ethical act: the translator chooses what to preserve and what to sacrifice, and that choice expresses values.

Consider translating the Japanese 木漏れ日 (komorebi — sunlight filtering through leaves):

• Preserve the visual experience → "dappled light through foliage"
• Preserve the emotional valence → "a moment of quiet beauty"
• Preserve the untranslatability → keep komorebi as a loanword

Each choice is a different answer to: what matters here?

Navigation, Not Transmission

This leads to the central thesis of the framework. Communication is not:

$A$ sends $P$ to $B$, $B$ receives $P$

It is:

$A$ and $B$ navigate toward a shared region of $\mathcal{M}$, using language as a map

The map is always incomplete. Navigation always involves judgment. And judgment is always, ultimately, a choice about what to prioritize.

$$\text{Communication} \equiv \text{Navigation} \equiv \text{Choice}$$

The Device is, at its core, a philosophy of navigation under irreducible uncertainty.