Creating the Grid

Before considering “breaking the grid,” we should look at why the grid was created in the first place. After all, the invisible grid on which we write and from which we read has been around for centuries, implying that it’s been working well so far.


According to John Lock, ideas come from experiences, more specifically broken up in to sensation and reflection. In a portion of one of Lock’s essays titled “Of Ideas” he states, “Let anyone examine his own thoughts, and thoroughly search into his understanding, and then let him tell me, whether all the original ideas he has there, are any other than of the objects of his senses, or of the operations of his mind considered as objects of his reflection” (187). While sensations are objective, reflection is important when it comes to learning and sharing ideas with others. It is for this reason that critical thinkers of The Enlightenment decided that publications should be clear, objective, transparent, and universal. Since the point of publishing is to put ideas into words to be shared with others, shouldn’t the way these words are formatted be easy to understand? Writers want others to have the ability to access their works and learn from them, or at least have them spark a conversation. This can only happen if ideas are published in a clear-cut fashion which is easily understood by a wide variety of people. It is for this reason that the grid has been working so well for so many centuries; people can access and understand information easily.

Those against the grid may be wondering who decides on how it is formed. Fellow Enlightenment thinker David Hume touches upon this issue in his essay “Of the Standard of Taste.” Hume acknowledges that thoughts and sensations are objective; not everyone sees the world in the same way. He claims that sensation only “…marks a certain conformity or the relation between the object and the organs or faculties of the mind; and if that conformity did not really exist, the sentiment could never possibly have being” (507). Conformity is necessary for the world to function as it does. Basically, if the formation of grid works for a majority of people, the rest must conform so that it stays universal. Although “conformity” is often seen as an evil word, people conform all the time. Elvis Presley is the king of rock and roll; Marilyn Monroe is a sex icon. Why? Because a majority of people felt this way, and many more conformed to holding Elvis as a high standard in music and Monroe as a high standard in sex appeal. While not everyone agrees with these statements, they are forced to deal with the fact that the standards were set. The same can be said about the formation of the grid. Anyone who doesn’t like it must either deal with it or start a movement.