of a new phrase, or a speech form, or a dance rhythm is already 
direct evidence of some actual development to which it is 
significantly related. Take, for example, the shift of English into 
an interrogative mood, since the arrival of “How about that?” 
Nothing could induce people to begin suddenly to use such a 
phrase over and over, unless there were some new stress, 
rhythm, or nuance in interpersonal relations that gave it 
relevance.

     It was while handling paper tape, impressed by Morse 
Code dots and dashes, that Edison noticed the sound given off 
when the tape moved at high speed resembled “human talk 
heard indistinctly.” It then occurred to him that indented tape 
could record a telephone message. Edison became aware of the 
limits of lineality and the sterility of specialism as soon as he 
entered the electric field. “Look,” he said, “it’s like this. I start