In 1913, Ludwig Wittgenstein told Bertrand Russell that he was planning to live by the fjords until he had solved the central questions in logic

Wittgenstein was troubled by the thought that he was never fully understood by others.

His most famous thought experiment, the beetle-in-a-box, crops up in his masterpiece, Philosophical Investigations.

He suggests the whole notion of a language that only I can understand is incoherent.

Scholars furiously dispute the relevance and application of the theory.

Language can function only because there are public criteria for acceptable usage. The practices of a community set up and police linguistic rules. If Wittgenstein is right and most philosophers are convinced he is the Cartesian picture of how we converse and relate to each other has been dramatically overturned. “That,” says Smith , “is a quite extraordinary achievement.” [See also: Ludwig Wittgenstein : a mind on fire].