The postcard and its “short circuit”
The postcard and its “short circuit”

Summary/Abstract: To put it succinctly, the main idea of Stanisław Pietraszko’s “Messages and values” is that no message (or, more precisely, no object that serves as amessage) is ever apure message in the sense of being entirely subservient to its informa-tional function, since it always carries an “excess,” acertain redundant “prolixity” which (against semiology’s prevalent notions) need not be in the least geared to optimizing the cognitive process. On the contrary, in terms of communication, this property can be regarded as atroublesome information overload, or “noise.” However, it is this very “noise” that Pietraszko identifies as afundamental, “axi-osemiotic” aspect of the message, namely, as a“correlate of culture,” which is the proper subject of his research as aculture scholar.

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