Good bit of philosophy NormB!
We've all bumped our heads on that one while writing posts. Surprisingly not too many clashes of meaning have surfaced. Apparently the adaptability(humanity's greatest quality) of most has leveled the communication hurdle. And if you add the fact that half of us speak a different language...we're getting along nicely!
In this definition may I add "the decryption of manufactured symbols to communicate ideas". That takes care of all media.
What if we wrote on buildings instead of paper or computers? Would the Library become a reader? A book collector's domain would be an awsome sight!
Reading is not the private domain of man.There are AIs that read, do they understand? That is something else.
PS. I'd love to go back to studies!