The most difficult part of communicating through illustrations and charades was actually trying to make the other person see what you wanted to convey to them. While it was hilarious looking at the drawings and people flailing their arms around, you weren’t able to get the full impact of their message. Really bad drawings and acting just didn’t allow you to explain any really deep or long thoughts, like when Postman writes about trying to do philosophy with smoke signals. Yes, that puff of smoke symbolizes the great philosophies of Aristotle. Umm no? It’s a gray blob! There was also the problem that you could think they were trying to say one thing when really, they meant something completely different. Truth is limited to the forms of communication we use, and when our communication means are poor, our message can be greatly affected.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that it was hilarious to watch other people trying to understand each other! It was also difficult, like you said. The last sentence you wrote pretty much sums it all up. "Truth is limited to the forms of communication we use, and when our communication means are poor, our message can be greatly affected." This is exactly what happened on Friday, when nobody could figure out what anyone was saying.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we need good forms of communication to get our point across. I like how you related that to what Postman said about smoke signals.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was quite amusing when someone would try to guess what I was trying to draw. It is true that you could not express deep thoughts, but it was easy to say yes or no. I like the last part you said about how with poor communication means the message can be affected drastically!
ReplyDelete"Truth is limited to the forms of communication we use, and when our communication means are poor, our message can be greatly affected."
ReplyDeleteMany would argue that with all this technology our communications means are anything but poor. They see Twitter, Blogs, Internet, smart phones and texting as great modes of communication. I agree, they are great modes of communication, but what are we and what aren't we communicating? Many, like that frog that slowly boils to death, never understand the importance of that question. Excellent post Emily!
I agree with your first statement Emily. People were getting so frustrated with me that they would stop trying to understand and just walk away. Not only was Friday socially awkward but it was a pain to try to get them to understand with those who were patient enough to pay attention to me.
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