She had always thought that if only people could communicate mind-to-mind, eliminating the ambiguities of language, then understanding would be perfect and there'd be no more needless conflicts. Instead she had discovered that rather than magnifying differences between people, language might just as easily soften them, minimize them, smooth things over so that people could get along even though they really didn't understand each other. The illusion of comprehension allowed people to think they were more alike than they really were. Maybe language was better.

Summary

This quote suggests that the speaker initially believed that direct mind-to-mind communication would enhance understanding among people by removing the limitations and misunderstandings caused by language. However, the speaker's realization is that language, despite its ambiguities, has the power to bridge those differences and facilitate better relationships. By softening and smoothing out conflicts, language creates an illusion of comprehension that enables people to think they are more similar than they actually are. Ultimately, the quote hints that perhaps language is indeed superior to direct mind-to-mind communication.

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