thesis: the generational and connotative divide between emoticons and emojis is that emoticons are improvised and emojis are purpose-built
:) is like a little bit of humanity peeking out of the machine, saying "this system wasn't made to be used this way but I figured out how to send you a little smile"
π represents the machine re-asserting control by helpfully providing a set of emotions that is more flexible and readable, but is also limited to a fixed set, discouraging improvisation
π represents the re-emerging resilience of the human spirit as we find new ways to break the machine's rules and repurpose its limited tools to express forbidden concepts
I have no idea where I'm going with this, I had another asthma attack and they gave me a lot of prednisone and it's hard to describe what that does to your brain but definitely something