Standardization

Only fifteen or so years ago people could distinguish 300,000 sounds; 
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Today many children can't go beyond 100,000 sounds 
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And the average is 180,000. 
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Twenty years ago the average subject could detect 350 shades of a particular color. 
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Today the number is 130 shades.
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We have named everything
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Abstracted everything
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Thereby reducing everything into a virtual representation
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This in turn reduces the beauty and power of the real object, sound or colour
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To do this we used language
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And  language today is the basis and the model for the standardization of industry 
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A generalization, and abstraction that underlie present-day science and industry.
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Everything is one step removed
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The computer you are using to read this offers you colours
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Pretty to be sure with numerous pixels HD even, but no smell or touch
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And the colours themselves while powerful are again one step removed from the real thing
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For ease of use everything on your computer is standardised
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In the real world too everything is becoming standardised from Peru to New Zealand
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Coke, Starbucks, Nike, Nestle and the rest
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Standardised tastes too
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Not far to go and not only is everything standardised but monetized too
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You might say it makes life  easier
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I would riposte that it a takes away life by offering pixels instead
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The price we pay is a loss of the original richness 
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The original touch and feel
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Still standardised everything maybe goes better with our standardised lives!