Communication, Revisited

What is communication?

This is the basis of civilization, and the foundation for all human interactions. Life exists as it does today because of the effectiveness of our developed abilities to share ideas, perceptions, and emotions between people. Think about it, how can you build a house without communicating? How can ideas spread, and what education without language? Everything that involves more than one person involves communication, but yet it can still be so obscure.

While we have learned to convey the vast majority of messages amongst individuals, there are still areas in which there lies great room for improvement, and that would involve just about every communication that involves people who have emotions. Last I checked, that didn't leave anyone out of this issue. The thing is, as I mentioned before, communication crosses through filters that modify the original content into a message for the listener. This is not always good. Oftentimes it is beneficial, because it converts information coming from one person into a form that the second person can hear, but in the instances where those two messages differ, there lies the potential for conflict.

Interpretations are frequent roots of quarrels, as they relate information present with assumptions that may or may not be valid. Interpretations are not always bad, for example if I say “Meet me at two at the train station”, it would be fairly safe to assume that I mean two in the afternoon, not in the morning, unless there are other indications in the conversation that indicate otherwise. Such an assumption could save a lot of hassle, so you don’t end up wasting a few hours of the night waiting for a non-existent train to arrive.

Many times, though, this is not the case, and assumptions can get you in trouble. Many times, though, they tend to reflect the receiver more than they do the communicator. This is because it is entirely up to the receiver to make sense of the messages he or she received, and this may require supplemental information that the speaker failed to provide. So, as a result, someone may take meaning from glances, gestures, and inflictions that are simply done without any meaning or thought. And many times, a failure to act in a certain way is also received as a communication, not one that was not intended.

The key to this mess lies in distinguishing information that arrived via assumptions versus that which arrived via direct intentional language. Being able to discern the two can help someone know when to trust what they know, or when to acknowledge a certain room for error in their understanding. If it were easier to think of one’s self as being wrong, many disagreements would be avoided.

But since when is that easy?

Communication

Now this is what makes communication so strange: it doesn’t work in the sense that I can communicate my idea into your understanding. That is not how it happens. Instead, through the two disconnects, there is my struggle to articulate my ideas, to put them out into the airwaves for your collection. It requires both a sense of transparency that is hard to come by and a talent for converting a felt impression into communicable language.

From there, the thought is beyond the speaker, and it is in the hands of the listener. Now this is no simple reconversion of words into thoughts, but of images into ideas. Because, you see, when we take in words, be they written, spoken, signed, we don’t take them by themselves. If that were to be true, then they would be meaningless, as they would have no context, no significance, no relevance, and not even a hint of importance to them. No, when the waves propagate through the air and hit our eardrums, before they reach our consciousness, even, they must be made meaningful. They are translated from high-low pressure regions into thoughts, but not without the contamination of preconceptions, visual cues, or vocal inflections that may indicate anything other than exactly what is said. These things are all jumbled up together in the resulting idea that pops out as what we “heard”.

This is what makes communication so difficult, because in order to speak we must be transparent, and in order to listen we must see our own opaqueness.

This brings me to my example. Through an exchanging of words, I managed to make someone very angry with me. From her perspective, I couldn’t see where she was coming from, and the ensuing communications merely compounded the original infraction. The problem was the limiting capabilities of texting. While they are great for sharing information, they do a lousy job of sharing anything more complex than the time. I was struggling to express my perspective through a means that only shared words, nothing more, and words are easily misinterpreted. (“Why don’t you get out of here?” can mean more than one thing based on the tone in which it is said.) So I sat there, struggling to communicate that I understood what she was going through. And whether or not I was correct in my evaluation of her state, I had no way of telling her what I meant. Take it that I actually did understand, and imagine me telling her using nothing but black and white text that idea right there. It could not conceivably be interpreted correctly; she was already mad at me and had prior knowledge of me not understanding her circumstances. What are the messaged words “I know what you mean” going to do when I am up against the facts of my historical ineptitude and her emotions of feeling like I can’t possibly know, even if it was explained to me very clearly.

I like to think about what can and what cannot be communicated through the traditional means, and what I can do to remedy the miscommunications that frequent our lives. The only thing I have come up with is understanding things the first time around and then never messing up. Well, we’ll see how that works.

Religion

Religion is a funny subject. I have been consciously been avoiding the topic to this point in all of my scheming in regards to my Meaning. I felt like I had it all figured out except for this little thing called God.

That was unfortunate, but I figured God would find His place in my ideals eventually, so I wasn’t worried. I wasn’t worried until I finally took a step back and critically examined my religious beliefs; then I was terrified.

See, instead of seeing what I was hoping to see – the good Christian boy I grew up knowing – I identified my questions and qualms with the church. I was not comfortable saying what I did and did not believe; instead, I only saw what I did not believe. And that was shocking.

Doubts are inherent in everything I conceive, but I did not leave room for the magnitude of doubts I was dealing with in my religious views. And that was crippling, and I felt like my world had fallen apart around me. If these thoughts aren’t solidified, then what can I have an unbreakable belief in if not in religion? And that made its way to my head and intruded on everything I did.

It took me a while, and some deal of outside help, to realize that I didn’t need to have the solution to my doubts. In fact, I didn’t even have to be able to conceive of a way to even ever dispel my beliefs.

It is the question that drives me, not the uncertainty that kills me.

Life's Questions

I haven't posted in a while because I felt like I was dealing with issues that I didn’t have answers to, and as a result I didn’t have anything to share. If I didn’t have solutions, then why would I post?

I now realize that this isn’t about the answers. Life is about the questions and how we relate to things that we don’t know what to think about. I’ve realized that I have more questions that I could possibly find answers to, and to hold up my life every time a big question came around that sent my thoughts into a tailspin would be completely absurd. As much as I would love to know the solutions to everything I may ever encounter, I now understand that such a request is lucrative. Hence, I acknowledge my passion for questions.

I love questions. I like answers, but I love good, insightful, stride-stopping questions that intercede in the progression of life.

Now, I just have to be comfortable with the knowledge that I am ignorant to matters of such enormity as religion and ethics. Whereas I’d love to step in and say that I’ve got it all figured out, I clearly don’t, and the humor of my persistent belief in my abilities still catches me.

I want to know the truth about the presence of God, but as I recently identified, the place for me to start is to settle for knowing that which I believe, and that which I can take by faith. Once I know where I stand, I can proceed with grappling and contemplating where my beliefs will take me.

So, at least for now, my life is about questions. Not answers, and I don’t need to hear any so-called “truths”, but I live with the questions, and let wonder fill my mind as I consider this world we inhabit.

And as one last thought for you to put in your blender and take for a spin: What holds value, and why?

I want to be my own HERO

According to Michael, the idea of heroism is pushing the limits, challenging the frontier of the unknown, and doing it because you can. It is not being satisfied with what you are given because that is what you have, but being satisfied knowing that you have done your best and have achieved what you have obtained. I want to disturb the everyday status quo and make what I choose out of life. Not to take circumstances for granted, but I want to enact my beliefs and live the life I define, not that which has been give to me.

I love the idea of showing other people what they can do and challenging them to push past their contented static lifestyle, but I want to do that for myself before I begin to help others. I want to challenge the ordinary and question the norm because I can imagine making a difference.

But what does this entail for me? What does this mean I should do right now? That is half of the problem. I need to both acknowledge a domain for change and act on that conviction. So where do I go from here? I am already on my way, having begun these writings and brought my convictions to consciousness, but that's not all. I want to take the small opportunities I have and devote myself to the goal, rather than succumb to apathy.

So I will finish math problems, study more than enough for tests, share my ideas in class, and offer my help beyond the classroom. I want to set goals to start new projects in my writings, manage my free time and make it productive.

I want to feel as if I grasped each day and lived it to its fullest potential. Bring on life. That is heroic.

I Feel, Therefore I AM

I was riding the bus back to school when this idea popped into my head. I don't exactly know where it came from, but I do know that I was experiencing a realm of emotions at the time; and I was loving it. I realize that all too often we believe that what makes us different, what makes humans unique, is our capacity for knowledge. I would ague that isn't all that unique. I mean, if you think about it, if everyone used logic perfectly and never let emotions invade their thinking, everyone would always come up with just about the same answer as everyone else. The only variance would be in what information went into making the logic flow. Rationality is just a process, and if used properly, it has nothing unique, nothing that can differentiate between people; and that is why it is so often considered to be so great. It is designed to allow multiple people to come up with the same answer. Computers can do that.

But emotions are unique. They are different to everyone. Not only does the same situation evoke different emotions in different people, but even the same emotion can evoke different responses within different individuals. And I LOVE that. It is the presence of emotions, passions, and spirits that drive people and make the world what it is we see today. 

If there were nothing to be had but logic, then life would be nothing but a string of events that inherently dictate the succeeding step in every case. To every input there is an output. It would make machines of us, because we would have no drives but those of logic. And even in a world where science conquers over disbelief, I would hate to live there. I would hate to follow the strategically structured routine and have no drive but that of rational advancement, but I wouldn’t know any better. There would be no art, because there have to be more efficient ways of making people happy or of expressing oneself, and there never would be any emotions to express through the nonexistent medium. Even happiness could be thrown out the window if it wasn't necessary to promote a fluid work-flow.

That is a terrifying thought. I would rather be unhappy at times than never to be able to feel energetic, to feel passionate. I want to be hurt so I can feel alive, because what is life if it isn't being alive? And what can constitute a desire if there is no basis for comparison that makes one alternative better than another? Sadness makes joy all that more powerful. And loneliness makes company all the more enjoyable. I don't advocate that one should seek less-than-desirable emotions, but rather when they inevitably come around, that we embrace them with the knowledge that they make joy possible. They show us that we are alive, and aren't just stimulated brains in jars. 

I want to let my passions grab a hold of me. And while I won't let them stray me in wrong direction, I will embrace the feeling of spirit and of vivacity while I have it to enjoy. This doesn’t get thought of enough in the right context: you only life once.

Investment in a belief system

I am realizing how much I have invested into this current scheme of thinking. I have spent so much time and put so much effort into establishing this set-up, that I am worried for my goal to be open-minded. I want to be able to be influenced by my daily life and to compare each day with this project I am working on. I don't want it to be static but ever evolving, but that is hard to do. I know that any big ideas have the potential to overturn this scheme, and I will be at a loss. All of this I have already completed will need to be modified, and I had enough trouble getting any ideas the first time.

I want to be open to influence, but I don't want what I hear to flip me on end. I want life to go according to this plan I have established because I can' t imagine starting over again if one piece doesn't fit. I have this idea where I write a book on what I am thinking, and if this all goes down the tubes, then so does this project. It is quite an unusual instance of a very common predicament. I am holding onto something because I fear that which change may bring to it, but this is also supposed to be something particularly open to change and responsive to that which doesn't fit. I would be a hypocrite to not accept the change that I preach, but still I am uncomfortable with the notion of loosing what I've done so far.

Where this plays out is in my interactions with other people regarding their Meanings. I want to be accepting of that which they've established as their Meanings, but I also just want these to fit into my own creation so that I don't have to deal with anything new. So I ask people for their responses to my work hoping for nothing more than happy encouragement. And so far that has been the majority of it, but that has no indications for the future.

That said, if I could establish a "more true" set of beliefs, I would be willing to start from scratch, because I wouldn't be starting from the beginning. Parts of what I have can definitely be reapplied and redone to fit the new casting, but it still means a lot of work. But that's life, and that's how I like it. What fun would this be if it were straightforward?

Passion

One thing I do know is that if you don't have something to live for, then you don't have a direction to head for. And, that is tough. Now, it is one thing to live -- to go through the flow, make a few choices, and see where you end up -- , it is another to live passionately -- to act thoughtfully, to love what you do and to do what you love.

Living can be taken in either of these two ways, but they don't end up in the same place. One is passive, it is reactive, and it fails to strive and succeed. The other has so much potential. I want to live passionately and put myself fully into everything I do, and I don't see why that couldn't be possible. If you make the decisions that lead to you living out what you want to be, then why can't you love everything that you do. The good comes with the bad, obviously, but love fixing the problems because each error is potential for change. It lends itself towards new opportunities, and why not make it fun? Passion is a strong emotion, and it is emotions that make us humans. They give us drive, they move us onward and attach us to that which we find important. Embracing passions gives us the chance to live more fully and to make our lives more than simple computations of input-outputs and a string of decisions. They are embodiments of our interests and our purposes as we promote our passionate intensity.

The purpose here is not in a romantic sense, but instead of all of our actions that ever so frequently pass as mundane occurrences. Those things happen for a reason, and either come to grips with the reason or find a way to change it. Don't live with that which you cannot bear, or at least don't accept it as a given if it can at all budge.

I want to "burn out bright"as Switchfoot puts it, and why not make a difference while I'm at it?

The Arts... oh, and Logic

Michael made a good point in his comments regarding the sublime and my very obvious focus on science and so-called "logical thinking". There is so much more to life than logic, and at a previous point, I was clear to point out to myself that it is entirely irrational to think that humans entirely rational. I saw the fallibility of reason, and how there are often driving emotions that overshadow and inhibit completely rational thinking. I was naive to think that this concept still didn't apply to my applications of logic; I just thought that this is a phenomenon that only applies to one's daily application of reason in a physical sense. And that is not entirely true. Every piece of logic has its flaws because, even if the operations are performed correctly, it is impossible to prove every premise to an indisputable degree. Hence, any application at all of anything remotely resembling "rationality" is prone to human error. Then again, that leads to the question of whether or not the idea of "rationality" is purely man-made in the first place. That is not the debate for today, because it is still seemingly one of my best tools I have to work with. That said, it may be the allen-wrench when I am looking for a flat-head screwdriver.

Now, back to ART. What is it, and is it more than merely a human creation? Why is it that in a world so driven by natural forces such as reproduction, one would care what some obscure object looks like? It could potentially have some correlation with intelligence, but then why is it so relative.

And is beauty only in the eye of the beholder? It is universal that art forms can have dramatic effects upon the perceiver (I use that word to relay that art is seen, heard, felt, tasted, and, why not, smelled). People are overwhelmed by art. I know I personally have a strong emotional attachment to music and photography. There are songs that just tug at my heart, make it light, or put me in a mood that seemingly came out of nowhere.

These could be simple brain reactions to particular stimuli, but I am going to argue against that for the moment. They might, really, have intrinsic value beyond which we perceive. They effect us in ways we don't understand, and they are so prevalent in society that it cannot be ruled out that there is something to them we do not understand. There is a math to beauty, so why can there not also be a science to it as well?

I love music. I find it to be one of the most relaxing or emotion evoking stimuli. And I refuse to believe that it is just a catalyst. In some regards it is one, but I believe that art forms can hold the emotions of the artist, and then have a distinct value to them. Music can make your heart beat fast, slow, or turn it upside down and rip it from you. Some music just does that, either with the manner in which it uses language or the way the instrumentation complements the melodies and harmonies. Just ask a composer: music has a sort of release inherent to it that frees the mind to the experience of the emotions it itself contains. 

From there I see the power of art, but I wonder where it falls into the picture of life. All I know is that it deserves more than a backseat. It is not just along for the ride, and it doesn't seem like it is a mere happenstance or byproduct of the establishment of the universe. It plays to major of a role. Are we the only ones who acknowledge it? That might be possible, but if there is more to art then there must be more to us. If art is only art when we perceive it, and it holds special significance in the world, then must not we also, as we are the only ones who can see it? The answer is not clear on that matter, but that is a topic for a later date.

What do I want with this blog?

If you are reading this, then there is something going on. I am thinking, as I write this, about making this my own person journal for my Meaning book. I may write out some ideas as they arrive to later look back and see what I am working with when it comes to actually putting together any sort of book-resembling material.
On that note, hello, and may this blog be helpful to you in the quest to find the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life the Universe and Everything. And I do apologize for bad references, of which that was not one.
Now, I hope this will keep me continuous on my writing so I don't go too long without getting anywhere, realizing that there is more to this book than writing. I need to try these ideas out on a daily basis so I can determine if they get me anywhere.

From there, I wish you good readings, and I ask that you comment on what you've read. Please, that would be greatly appreciated.