An icon is a symbol equally incomprehensible in all human languages An icon is a symbol equally incomprehensible in all human languages. There's a reason why humans invented phonetic languages. Jef Raskin, Steve Jobs iconographysymbols
Bells Most Japanese bells when hung still have on them one or more rough lines obviously arising in horizontal mold joints. These lines are not removed in fettling the bell, and they seem to be regarded not as defects but rather as a reminder of the reality of the founder’s interaction with his materials. One is reminded of the ceramics that are most treasured in Japan which usually have some unexpected tool marks or irregularity resulting from a kiln mishap. Cyril Stanley Smith, A Search for Structure Chapel of St. Ignatius, Seattle, 1995–7 flawswabi-sabi