Communication

This post is going to be on the topic of Communication and how it is changing, not necessarily for the better.

What is Communication?  It can be defined as an exchange of thoughts, opinions and information, but it is more complex than that.

To clarify what I mean I want to answer another, more philosophical question first.  Does a tree falling in the forest make a sound if there is no one to hear it?  I think the answer is no.  A sound is something that must be perceived, consciously experienced by a sentient being.  It is not merely a pressure-density wave traveling through a medium, just like communication is not just information recorded in a medium.

So, communication similarly requires an observer, like the sound a tree makes in the forest. 

The way people communicate has changed in recent years, as well as the media in which we do so. 

Students in school might still read Shakespearian plays, but no one talks like that any more, we don’t make long-winded speeches about love or rivalry or the desire to shed ones mortal coil.  Today not only do people use less words to express their thoughts and feelings but their patience for listening has also dwindled.  The art of conversation is dying.  This is the digital age of facebooking, blogging, texting and internet match-making and courting.  “Welcome to the desert of the Real!”  (Morpheus - The Matrix)

To be Continued…

I ended on a cynical note, but I want to address the real problem of communication; that is how to get the attention of another observer.   What is it that I want to communicate?  Ideas, questions, and what do I want in return;  comprehension, feedback, new original ideas and points of view... 

I also need to be a good listener and offer those crucial things to others when they are talking.  To show that I connect and understand what they want to communicate.

I have to accept the difficult truth that not everyone will want to connect and be receptive to communication with me.   People can often be on very different wavelengths of consciousness and speak different languages, literally and figuratively.  The key, I think, is to recognise when there is common ground and try to expand on that in order to have a meaningful interaction.