Communication

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I feel that one of the primary uniquenesses of the human race is the ability to communicate effectively; in the earliest days only through speech language but later on (and, as we all know, this has been the dominant medium for at least 50 years now) also through the written word [see writing].

I don't know who first said it, but there is a rule saying that The usefulness of a system is not proportional to the number of components, but in the number of ways those components can interact. I think the same thing can very often be said about us humans. Have you ever wondered why the military often groups people about 8-10 together? Quite correct, groups of about that size communicate and cooperate optimally...

Anybody having some amount of education [see school] will probably have learned that communication has three main parts: The sender, the medium and the receiver. I feel that the medium is the more interesting of those three: For some reason, some mediums seem to be much more fit than others for a given task. I mean, in theory, it shouldn't really matter if I tell you something face-to-face or write it down, put it in an envelope and post it, right? Yet, the medium affects our communication so strong, I feel it is important to be aware of the medium when we try to make our thoughts heard. At this very moment, I am the sender and you are the receiver -- and I'm communicating via a web page [see the Internet]. That's one-to-many-communication... and it makes my job as a sender (and perhaps even more yours as the receiver!) so much harder. But then, I don't have to write a new message for everybody who wants to hear what I have to say either, and that's the advantage (or should I say convenience) of modern communication. As I write this, my words are somehow carved in stone, or at least until I tire of my home page once more, and delete them. :-)