The Science of Communication – Part 2

Ethology

In early childhood we have a very limited knowledge of our surroundings, so we must find ways by which we can distinguish one thing from another. The case of animals is hardly different. We know that the cow has black spots, the dog likes bones and the cat has long whiskers. Interestingly, we do not only learn how to differentiate animals by their looks, we also learn to tell them apart by the sounds they make. The cow goes moo, the dog goes woof, the cat goes meow so on and so forth.

Even to children, it is self-evident that the animals are not making these sounds to be funny and make us laugh, it is their way of  ”talking”. Animals communicate in various ways depending on their species. For example, bees use a waggling movement to inform each other about the location of important food sources, which makes it look like they are dancing. Other animals use sounds that are either so high (ultrasounds) or so low (infrasounds) that us humans cannot even detect them. While animals use communication methods that to us may seem a bit unusual, they still fufil their purposes and work very effectively within the animal kingdom.

Aesthetics

Generally, we visit museums to admire beauty.To let it all sink in, to walk around for hours on end, mesmerized by the mystery of art and the journey it takes us on. What we fail to notice is that we are actually partaking in an indirect communication process. The artist forwards us a code in form of the artwork which we, the audience can then decipher by forming our own interpretation of the piece. How cool is that?!

Sociology

”Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

A famous quote by Helen Keller, whose story is immensely inspiring. Even with her ways of communication being so incredibly limited, she recognised the major role communication plays in social relationships.

Communication is an undeniable criterion of human cooperation. This fact is demonstrated remarkably well in the biblical story of The Tower of Babel.

When people are strapped from their means of understanding each other’s intentions, all hell breaks loose. As humans we rely on communication greatly. We use it to build bridges between ideas which allows us to work in large groups quite efficiently.