The technical in the structure of communication media is based on the characteristics found in binary codes; they schematize any number of processes at the start; they regulate the sequences of their operation and they strengthen their selectivity, by forming chains, beyond what individual participants can oversee and be responsible for. Of equal importance is the possibility of symbolizing possibilities in such a way that the selection process can react not just to what is actually there, but also to what is possible and real in its possibility of being something different. Codification and symbolization take the pressure off consciousness and thereby increase its ability to orient towards contingencies.

Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, loc. 726