As was the case with code problems relating to the communication medium of power, we can profit here too from analyses at the level of a general theory of communication media. No communication medium can consist solely of a series of generalized symbols, such as a list of signs. All those involved in the communication process are subject to common conditions and limits of selectivity on the basis of their physioorganic existence – in other words, on the basis of conditions of compatibility with other levels in the formation of the system.

DEFINE: Clarifies that communication media always operate under shared physioorganic constraints, not just symbolic abstraction.

Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, loc. 701