Relationship Between Communication and Human Sciences

Relationship Between Communication and Human Sciences The aim of this paper is to critically analyse communication and its development of human societies. It will scrutinise whether any form of symbolic behaviour was a form of communication. This essay will question some of the findings of the past through the examination of communicative works such as cave-art. Discussion of urbanism and religion as a means of communication with divine or supernatural powers will then follow. Writing as posited as one of Childe’s ten criteria as a cause of urbanism will be critically evaluated. To conclude, I will offer my perspective on the development of human societies having evaluated the evidence and expert views. So what is communication? Communication is derived from the Latin word communis (Peters, 1999), meaning â€Å"to share†. Thus, communication is the activity of conveying information through the exchange of messages, information, and thoughts, as by signals, visuals, writing or behaviour. The history of communication dates b ack to ancient times, speech which revolutionized the human communication was developed some 200,000 years ago; symbols were developed about 30,000 years ago while writing about 7,000. Throughout the millennia, human societies underwent major changes in their social order where people lived 10,000 years ago in small, mobile groups which depended on wild plants and animals. Examples of those groups include but is not limited to those of the Yangzi river valley in East Asia and the Americas which underwent changes from hunter-gatherers to an organised society. It is these early examples of groups which domesticated local plant and animal species to forge a farming community and with the development of agriculture and sedentism, population growth soon followed. These farming societies transformed themselves into larger, more complex social systems characterised by cities, political states and class inequalities. As with civilisations such as those of Egyptian and Roman empires, rulers and dynasties rose and fell, and the potsherds and stone tools of archaeology made way for written documents. Without communication, the lives of human beings would be very different as it is critical for growing and maintaining everything around us. The relationship between communication and human society is ever-growing having achieved a huge growth in its partnership. Humans simply could not have achieve this kind of development and growth without the existence of communication. Within society, all relationships and social connections rely on communication and appreciate and understand its importance and with varying communication methods and processes, it gave a great boost to the development of human society. Communication as it is today is a continuing process as people strive to develop new and innovative communication methods and processes. To fully appreciate the growth of communication, we need to look back to the beginning to  the stone age when communication was in its initial developmental stages. There were no languages, resultantly little communication processes were followed by humans. The swift development of human abilities made way for the development of communication and human society. Humans began to use signs and non-verbal communication to communicate with fellow humans such as runners, birds, arrows, smokes. As humans became more and more organized, different kinds of languages and communication methods were developed. Major developments during the Stone Age were: Cave paintings Petro glyphs Pictograms Ideograms Later, during the Bronze Age, human beings invented writing which revolutionized the communication methods and processes, there began a new period of communication. Accepted examples of such writings are Egyptian hieroglyphs and the Indus Valley script (Tharoor 2009). By 2700 BC Egyptian writing had a set of some 22 hieroglyphs to represent syllables (Crabben 2011). Some of the prominent developments of these times are: Writing Alphabet Paper With the introduction of various form of communication, is the question whether symbolic behaviour is a form of communication? Communication and symbolic links seem to go hand in hand with features seen as symbolic objects such as daggers, warriors– some carrying weapons, axes, wheeled vehicles, houses, farm buildings and livestock. Other evidence presented is the rock-art of Valcamonica (Italy) and Southern Africa in which a number of symbolic representations were discovered. Southern-Africa in particular has cave-art of varying degrees of what I would consider a form of symbolism such examples include dancing women an various geometric forms. I believe that symbolic behaviour could be considered as a form of visual communication because a message is being conveyed irrespective of the media and form of communication. Not restricted to cave-art, symbolic behaviour is also seen through the construction of objects such as the sky-disk and sun chariot. The Nebra sky-disk depicts the sun, moon, 32 stars and two arcs, originally three. Its significance alludes any understanding of its significance, however, it does not detract from the fact that it is symbolic in nature and may have been used as an astronomical calculation tool to determine times of harvest (Haughton, 2011). Whatever the significance of the disk, it is still one of symbolism. The final piece of symbolism lies with the Sun Chariot, similar in its astronomical representation of the sun and moon which again illustrates a form of symbolism in the form of a bronze-wheeled-model of a horse pulling a large disk. Not isolated to mere models of bronze, the discovery of burial practices and metallurgy to display prestige and cultural practices can also be considered as a form of symbolism. Unfortunately, no depiction of the latter practices are represented in the rock-art, suggesting that the presence of cave-art does not fully represent the full range of activities, but does not exclude the very fact that once again symbolism is represented through prestige. Symbolism was prominent on a global basis and in Southern Africa, rock-art had symbolic meanings to those who created them. The representation of these paintings were linked between the material and spirit world which in turn depicted shamans and the spirit world. I believe that any consideration into the varying forms of symbolic behaviour should be seen as a form of communication. In summary with regards to symbolism and communication, I am inclined to support the idea that symbolism is a form of communication which is reinforced by Childes criteria for urbanism and the rise of civilisation coupled with the development of symbolic art (Perkins, 2013). Cave or rock-art is known as the oldest form of communication and is the precious remnant of an ancient way of life which provides some of the oldest clues of cultures from long ago. Rock-art and art form or drawing style provides a recorded history of human thought patterns and behaviour. Insights into their socio-religious aspects as well as their ancient culture and myths can be gained and prove valuable into gaining an insight into their lives. Between 30,000 and 5,000 years ago, no written records existed except for cave-art and rock etchings. It was not until post 5,000 years that other types of written records came into existence. Rock-art is in my opinion considered a form of communication and message, whether simple or complex, is special but yet to be fully understood. It provides a small glimpse into the socio-religious aspects of these ancient neolithic cultures. A number of theoretical views and opinions have purported to explain rock-art, but in my view, I am inclined t o suggest that rock-art simply portrays simple daily life. Another possible theory could be that of conveying a complex message about the shamans journey and their altered state of consciousness, suggesting a true appreciation and understanding of ancient tribal life. An air of caution must be placed in assuming that the paintings produced in a specific tribal social and religious context within cave-art has any resemblance to the belief systems of modern Western society and therefore should not be gauged to such. Any form of ritualistic, mythological or supernatural representations art is open to debate as to whether it is art or religion. The area surrounding art and its link to religion would be a difficult assumption to make as to view the work within a set context is to view the art in the same way as those who were around during that time period. As with any religious content, the interpretations are hypothetical and subjective based on the interpreters ideals. However, the presence of animals may have been more of a symbolic vision of the world around them. This art could also be a way of communicating possible ritual practices (Zorich, 2011) that may have taken place within the cave systems. There is a possible assumption that ritual practices taking place within the caves were a means of communication with divine or supernatural powers. The imagery of animals may have been viewed as sacred due to their physical strength indicating power. Throughout time there have been links with sham anism and rock art within the context of spiritualism. One such example is that of the Valcamonica figure which depicts a running man (Naquane, 2014), often identified as a shaman. The key controversy is that the art is a representation of the real world and with that consideration it questions its true purpose and functions. As with everything else in life, changes occur, additions are made to existing structures and art work; likewise with cave art by engraving over already existing work in addition to leaving existing engravings alone, signifies a meaning for those adding to the already present art. It is fair to surmise that maybe these images may have had a symbolic or religious function which in turn can be accepted as a form of communicating rituals and the idea of theology. To further support the theory, Scandinavian rock art is suggestive of ritual or mythological as well as associations with the supernatural. I truly believe that such interpretations are acceptable and sho uld be viewed as a way of looking beyond an established civilisation to that of conducting oneself to a higher power, a deity perhaps? Further evidence has recently come to light of the possible religious or spiritual practices from the discovery of rock-art in the highlands (McKenzie, 2014). The discovery included a boulder decorated with ancient cup and ring marks which archaeologists believe may have been made for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons include ritualistic, astronomical or simply doodling. If we were to assume that it was ritualistic, it implies that there may have been a link with divine or supernatural powers. It is a safe assumption that with cave-art, a link between communication and the belief of divine and supernatural powers exists. It is without a doubt that human communication is underpinned by a social survival imperative. In the words of Blakemore, Winston and Frith (2004) Humans crave the company of others and suffer profoundly if temporarily isolated from society. The above statement is indicative of the need to communicate hence with the spread of hunter-gatherers across various regions, communication took on differing forms. These ranged from non-verbal communication which consisted of possible facial expressions, tone of voice, body movement and stance which eventually emerged in conjunction with verbal communication within the hunter-gathers period. It is through the use of language as a symbolic form of communication to convey messages to one another but is not limited to just the verbal aspect of communicating. As previously mentioned, writing, drawing, painting and sculptures was and still is a form of communication, a graphical and yet symbolic method of communication. One asserts that the hunter-gathers of the time used various methods to communicate from non-verbal to verbal as well as art to project and record their beliefs and lifestyles. The earliest form of urbanism appeared in the Near East (3rd Millennium BC), Warka, known from texts as the Sumerian city of Uruk (Mathews, 2013). Life in the City of Warka was marked by the appearance of well known cultural innovations such as the architecture of monumental portions, commemorative art and the use of a cylinder seal. Another innovation which involves one of Childes ten criteria is that of writing which appeared during the late Uruk period and was considered the earliest form of writing. It can be implied that the presence of writing was not coincidental but one of relevance towards the formation of social organisation. I believe that writing is essential in maintaining any form of governance within a state organisation. My argument is that writing as it stands provides a method of record keeping which is essential for not only the organisation but also the administrative and social control of people living within an urban setting. If proven that the writing found at Uruk was indeed an integral part in urban life then it will be a safe assumption that the presence of writing was in effect consistent with governmental administration. However, I dispute this perspective since other societies have existed without the need for writing to maintain a society. One such society was that of the Incas. Not having a recognised writing system like the rest of the world, no carved stone, no papyrus or art, the Incas established and maintained a working empire proving that urbanism does not require a writing system to flourish. Having said that, the Incas did have a method of recording accounts, astronomical calculations and possibly their stories, this method involved the use of cords and knots (K.K. Hurst, 2002), a complicated system but yet a record, nevertheless. Having considered the Incas and the use of the cord system as a possible means of conveying messages is in my opinion open to debate as to whether the use of knots in cords is a form of communica tion. Critical analysis of the communication adopted by the Incas does not provide a convincing argument therefore in my opinion that it is highly improbable the Incas possessed a system of writing. When taking into account that for urbanism to exist and thrive, a system of communication is required, be it writing or otherwise, the Inca civilisation as far as I am concerned refutes that theory. Would the Incas have adopted writing from the people of Warka? Due to the strong beliefs of the Incas and the significance of the cord system, I would assume the Incas would have refrained from doing so. In concluding this paper, the true significance of these vast array of cave paintings discovered and possibly some yet to be discovered is and will remain elusive for now. I can conclude that the cave-art, some brilliant in comparison to the art work that we find today, reflects the development of symbolic life, and an important turning point in human evolution. This sudden burst is reminiscent of the big bang theory but in this case it is the big bang theory of the human mind. It is through the study of the cave-art that has drawn a possible link to a symbolic life and with further field study and analysis will push the theory and reveal a symbolic life from the past. I also believe that communication and its impact on past civilisations may not have had a major role to play just simply a system which was adopted for growth and control. Today, communication is a requirement for any country to succeed and flourish in the way of trade and finance as well as the setting down of laws. A s we have come to know, the effect of communication is one of globalization, take communication away now and we are left with ignorance and loss of what we have to know as part of everyday life. (2532 words) References Blakemore, Winston and Frith (2004) Social cognitive neuroscience: where are we heading? Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15120680 (Accessed 4 March 2014) Haughton, B. (2011) Ancient History Encyclopaedia The Nebra Sky Disc Ancient Map of the Stars Available at: http://www.ancient.eu.com/article/235/ (Accessed: 3 March 2014) Hurst, K.K. (2002) About.Com Archaeology Knotty Problems The Ancient Writing System of the Inca Available at: http://archaeology.about.com/od/americanancientwriting/a/quipu.htm (Accessed 4 March 2014) Mathews, R (2013) Peoples and complex societies of Ancient south-west Asia Edited by Scarre, C The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies 3rd Edition London: Thames and Hudson, pp. 440, 443 McKenzie, S BBC (2014) Rare Neolithic or Bronze Age rock art in Ross-shire [online], Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-26366644 (Accessed 27 February 2014) Perkins, P (2013) A251 World Archaeology Study Guide 4th Edition Milton Keynes: The Open University, p. 34 Peters, JD (1999) Latin roots of Communication Available at: http://www.colorado.edu/communication/meta-discourses/Theory/latin.htm (Accessed 4 March 2014) Scarre, C (2013) Later prehistoric societies in Central and Western Europe Edited by Scarre, C The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies 3rd Edition London: Thames and Hudson, pp. 420, 424 Tharoor, I. (2009) Time World Decoding the ancient script of the Indus valley Available at: http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1919795,00.html (Accessed 6 March 2014) Naquane (2014) The Open University, Rock art gallery Valcamonica running man Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/subpage/view.php?id=342575 (Accessed 3 March 2014) Van Der Crabben, J. (2011) Ancient History Encyclopaedia Alphabet, Definition Available at: http://www.ancient.eu.com/alphabet/ (Accessed: 6 March 2014) World Heritage Convention Rock Drawings in Valcamonica Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/94 (Accessed: 3 March 2014) Zorich Z. (2011) A Chauvet Primer Available at: http://archive.archaeology.org/1103/features/werner_herzog_chauvet_cave_primer.html (Accessed 3 March 2014)

Lewis Thomas Essay

Biologist Lewis Thomas argues that mistakes should be thought of as a blessing rather than a misfortune, because they pave the way for new discoveries and understandings. As can be seen with past events and happenings, this claim proves to be valid as mistakes are necessary for progress. Various scientific advancements throughout history have been errors turned into findings. Such an example can be seen in medical discoveries. Penicillin, founded in 1928 by accident, was at first thought to be useless, but after countless experimentation it was finally used as medicine and a Nobel Prize was received for it. Other substances that were discovered by coincidence include Viagra and a small pox vaccine. Viagra was originally a cardiovascular drug but during the testing phase it wasn’t effective in treating heart ailments. Scientist continued to study the unexpected side effects which were an effective treatment for erectile dysfunction. Small pox vaccination was encountered through the injection of cow pox into an eight year old boy which resulted in a counteraction of small pox. These are merely a few of that many scientific findings that at first were thought to be mistakes. The nutrition industry of The United States of America would be incomplete without the numerous, spontaneous, discoveries over time. A man in San Francisco accidently left his juice outside in the winter and it froze. He ate the frozen juice and came up with popsicles. America’s favorite chocolate chip cookies were also a mistake. When the Toll House Inn’s Ruth Wakefield ran out of baking chocolate one day in 1930, she smashed up a bar of semi-sweet chocolate and added the pieces to her dough. Upon their removal from the oven, the cookies weren’t uniformly infused with melted chocolate, but rather studded with little chunks throughout. The signature sweet put her Whitman, Massachusetts inn on the culinary map. These accidental discoveries are what made the food industry what it is today. To be successful you have to be willing to do whatever it takes to gain that success. Even though people seem to believe that when you’re trying to be  successful mistakes should be avoided. However, that is not the case because through mistakes you are able to realize what you did wrong and correct it to what you’re supposed to do to be successful.

Conjugation of Pedir, Servir, and Vestir

Pedir (to request), servir (to serve), and vestir (to dress or wear) are among the common Spanish verbs in whose conjugation the -e- in the stem sometimes changes to -i-. Other verbs that follow the pattern of pedir as shown below  include competir (to compete), despedir (to send off, among other meanings), impedir (to impede or prevent), medir (to measure), and repetir (to repeat). Irregular forms are shown below in boldface. Translations are given as a guide and in real life may vary with context. Infinitive of Pedir pedir (to request) Gerund of Pedir pidiendo (requesting) Participle of Pedir pedido (requested) Present Indicative of Pedir yo pido, tà º pides, usted/à ©l/ella pide, nosotros/as pedimos, vosotros/as pedà ­s, ustedes/ellos/ellas piden (I request, you request, he requests, etc.) Preterite of Pedir yo pedà ­, tà º pediste, usted/à ©l/ella pidià ³, nosotros/as pedimos, vosotros/as pedisteis, ustedes/ellos/ellas pidieron (I requested, you requested, she requested, etc.) Imperfect Indicative of Pedir yo pedà ­a, tà º pedà ­as, usted/à ©l/ella pedà ­a, nosotros/as pedà ­amos, vosotros/as pedà ­ais, ustedes/ellos/ellas pedà ­an (I used to request, you used to request, he used to request, etc.) Future Indicative of Pedir yo pedirà ©, tà º pedirà ¡s, usted/à ©l/ella pedirà ¡, nosotros/as pediremos, vosotros/as pedirà ©is, ustedes/ellos/ellas pedirà ¡n (I will request, you will request, he will request, etc.) Conditional of Pedir yo pedirà ­a, tà º pedirà ­as, usted/à ©l/ella pedirà ­a, nosotros/as pedirà ­amos, vosotros/as pedirà ­ais, ustedes/ellos/ellas pedirà ­an (I would request, you would request, she would request, etc.) Present Subjunctive of Pedir que yo pida, que tà º pidas, que usted/à ©l/ella pida, que nosotros/as pidamos, que vosotros/as pidà ¡is, que ustedes/ellos/ellas pidan (that I request, that you request, that she request, etc.) Imperfect Subjunctive of Pedir que yo pidiera (pidiese), que tà º pidieras (pidieses), que usted/à ©l/ella pidiera (pidiese), que nosotros/as pidià ©ramos (pidià ©semos), que vosotros/as pidierais (pidieseis), que ustedes/ellos/ellas pidieran (that I requested, that you requested, that he requested, etc.) Imperative of Pedir pide (tà º), no pidas (tà º), pida (usted), pidamos (nosotros/as), pedid (vosotros/as), no pidà ¡is (vosotros/as), pidan (ustedes) (request, dont request, request, lets request, etc.) Compound Tenses of Pedir The perfect tenses are made by using the appropriate form of haber and the past participle, pedido. The progressive tenses use estar with the gerund, pidiendo. Sample Sentences Showing Conjugation of Pedir and Similarly Conjugated Verbs No podemos retener a extranjeros que no quieren pedir asilo. (We cant keep holding foreigners who dont wish to ask for asylum. Infinitive.) Hay muchas veces en las que ella y su madre se han vestido igual. (There are many times in which she and her mother have dressed alike. Present perfect.) La ley no impide venta de alcohol cerca de las escuelas. (The law doesnt prevent alcohol sales near schools.  Present indicative.) Estoy satisfecho con estos resultados porque los muchachos compitieron en contra de los mejores del paà ­s. (Im satisfied with these results because the boys competed against the countrys best. Preterite.) Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial hubo enormes aviones que servà ­an como bombarderos, volaban sobre el enemigo. (During World War II there were huge airplanes that served as bombers, flying over the enemy. Imperfect.)  ¿Se repetirà ¡ la historia? (Will history repeat itself? Future.) No vas a creer lo que està ¡n vistiendo. (You wont believe what theyre wearing. Gerund.) Rodrà ­guez insistià ³ en que su partido pedirà ­a a los catalanes que votaran sà ­ a quedarse en Espaà ±a. (Rodrà ­guez insisted that his party would ask Catalonians to vote yes to remaining in Spain. Conditional.) Es violatorio de la Constitucià ³n que impidan el derecho a las protestas. (It violates the Constitution for them to impede the right to protest. Present subjunctive.) Quisiera unos padres que no midieran el tiempo al estar conmigo. (I wanted parents who wouldnt ration their time being with me. Imperfect subjunctive.) No pidas perdà ³n. (Dont ask for forgiveness. Imperative.)

Gish Jen’s novel Typical American Essay - 1278 Words

Gish Jen’s novel Typical American A mother drives her three kids to soccer practice in a Ford minivan while her husband stays at the office, rushing to finish a report. Meanwhile, a young woman prays her son makes his way home from the local grocery without getting held up at knife point by the local gang. Nearby, an immigrant finishes another 14-hour shift at the auto parts factory, trying to provide for his wife and child, struggling to make way in a new land. Later, a city girl hails a cab to meet her girlfriends at their favorite club to celebrate her new promotion over cosmopolitans. These people – the suburban soccer mom, the tired immigrant, the worried mother from the hood, and the successful city girl – each represent the†¦show more content†¦For Ralph and many young Americans, this fantasy quickly proves false as they grow up and experience life. In the novel, Ralph’s perception of New York City and America changes almost as quickly as it was originally formed. He is immediately confronted with a language barrier, leaving him lost and disconnected from his new world. Soon enough, Ralph was beginning to know what was what. He was lonely still†¦New York lost its gleam. He drifted through its streets as if through an exhausted, dusty land, no detail of which has changed in a thousand years (Jen 13–14). Ralph’s hardships clearly show that coming and surviving in America as an immigrant is not what most perceives it to be. Instead, the everyday realities of life in America quickly lose that idealistic gleam which has been polished and revered over so many years, held in the minds of Americans across the country. Ralph sees the truth of these things and turns to a new path on the road to the American dream. After the disillusionment of Ralphs initial foray into American culture, he decides the next best thing is for him to marry and begin a new life – a new reality. Again, Ralph is d elighted with his new wife, Helen, and the life they wereShow MoreRelatedAmerican Prose Project1624 Words   |  7 Pages332-02 14 April 2013 Gish Jen: â€Å"In the American Society† American Prose Project â€Å"In the American Society† is a short story wrote by Gish Jen. It was first published in 1986 in The Southern Review (Hunter,†MELUS Interview† 6). The short story â€Å"In the American Society† was the spring board for her novel Typical American. The author Gish Jen was born Lillian Jen in 1955 in New York. Her pen name Gish was her nickname in high school. Gish is a second generation Chinese American. She is one of five