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Almost none of our symbols make sense and are disconnected from their origin. That's a good thing. Without detachment of the signs from their reference we can't have abstract thought and language. The letter D comes from an icon for fish. But it went from indexical reference to icon, to symbol. And then we changed its shape over time to what it is today, and some people started using it for the alveolar plosive. The same has happened for every single symbol we recognize and use, alphabet or not. It's all arbitrary and it doesn't matter if we don't use actual floppy disks anymore.
This is all true but given the charge of creating a new icon that would be the "most recognizable" as save to the most people the first time they see it, what would that look like. The question is impossible to answer with a single thing as it's too vast and everything becomes meaningless eventually. But given everything we know of languages, the brain, how we perceive things, what would be a better icon we could design?
You can't design a better icon. That's not how symbolism works. The most recognizable symbol for save is the one we are using now. As designing something new, by default, it would not be recognized by anyone but the designer since use defines meaning. Until it is used it won't be recognized by anyone.
Edit: like, think of the play icon and its meaning in media control. It was born as an indicator of the direction a reel to reel tape player was moving. It still holds that meaning for digital streaming today despite the virtual extinction of tape players. Its use defines its meaning, detached from its origin and despite the obsolescence of its reference.
Not necessarily. I can see an icon with some randomly-sized vertical lines and think of rain. Or an icon might have a mountain peak silhouhette that generates a random mountain peak. Symbolism doesn't work in the sense we can't just design something but I'd argue we could probably come up with something that is at least indicative of saving to people regardless of language. Obviously the floppy fills that for now but if we could go back and drive the adoption of the icon, what icon could we create that would most indicate saving to people regardless of technology.
(I understand there isn't a correct answer to this, just wanted to read people's thoughts on ideas)
A friend was a design teacher and he taught me that design uses existing symbolism and iconography. But you can't control what people will ultimately use your design for. The babadook for example, was a monster intended to cause fear in a horror movie. However, a clerical error by Netflix and an over imaginative tumblr user, turned it into a queer icon that is now widely recognized on internet culture. Of course you can sort of imbue intent and predict use of design to some extent, but humans have an arbitrary side that makes it hard to say something would be a better icon for an abstract concept.
Thank you, I appreciate this response to my comment. It's given me a wider perspective on the topic in general. It's almost like that arbitrary side is what keeps the wobble in humanity's path which forces us to continue advancing and understanding the world, never becoming complacent.