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Week 8 [02.12 – 08.12.2019] Communication

It is a common knowledge, that through communication we understand the process of exchanging the information(messages) between their participants. We distinguish plenty of various types of communication:
  • Interpersonal communication
  • Language communication
  • Intercultural communication
  • Social communication
  • Symbolic communication
  • Marketing communication
  • Literary communication
  • Verbal communication
  • Non-verbal communication
  • Internet communication
  • Telecommunications

Short history of communication:

The emergence of civilization would not have been possible without mastering communication techniques. Without the ability to communicate, man would not only not be able to initiate technical progress and the development of civilization, but he could not even create any communities.

Here are the main milestones in the history of global communication:

200,000 BCE - Speech
The evolution of the brain distinguished man from animals and it led to the creation of a revolutionary way of communication - speech. It is assumed that the FOXP23 gene was of great importance, which gave mankind many language skills back then.



3300 BCE – Writing
Symbols were the precursor of another great invention - writing. A closed set of symbols expressing phonetic sounds or concepts enabled the storage of complicated, long messages and was used as a ‘graphical speech recorder’.



2000 BCE – Phonetic alphabet
The oldest example of the alphabet known to us today was used in Egypt by the Semites, who gave the Egyptian hieroglyphs new names. Initially, only consonants had their phonemes, but subsequent mutations of the alphabet (including Phoenician - 1200 BC) evolved towards the inclusion of vowels, which occurred in the Ancient Greek alphabet (900 BC), the ancestor of the alphabets of European civilization.



400 BCE – Heliograph
Heliographs are devices operating on the principle of reflecting light rays by mirrors. For the first time, a description of their use is encountered in “Hellenica Oxyrhynchia”, where we can find a description of the battle signals transmitted with the help of polished shields.


1848 CE – Telephone
The telegraph is only a decade older than the telephone. Antonio Meucci constructed the first telephone and in the 1870s this invention was popularized by American Alexander Bell, who is popularly but mistakenly considered the inventor of this device.


1969 - Computer networks (Internet)
The Internet combined with computer functionality is another revolution in communication techniques. In combination with the Internet and computer peripherals such as a printer, scanner, headphones and microphone, as well as with evolving technologies such as electronic paper, the computer can combine all the advantages of previous methods of communication.


Methods of communicating in present times

Enough of this history. Let's finally get to the times, that are a little closer to us. Currently, people communicate in many ways: from ancient mail, through cell phones and faxes, to modern instant messengers or social networks. Let’s take a closer look at the latest ones:

Mobile phones
Attempts to create mobile phones were made in the 1940s and 1950s. The first mobile phone prototype was made in 1956 by the Swedish company Ericsson, which I personally really like, and I am sad, that the company was taken over by Sony. The phone weighed 40 kilograms, and its shape resembled a suitcase and it costs as much as a car.


Social network
Social networking is the hit of current generations of young people. In one place I have a messenger, forum, photo album, information boards, games, etc.




Questions:
1.       What would your day look like without a phone?
2.       How did people communicate before the invention of the telephone?
3.       What feature you think is lacking with today's latest phones?


Sources:

Comments

Dawid Piotrak said…
1. What would your day look like without a phone?
It'd be less convenient for me to communicate with others as it is my primary source of communication. Other than that it wouldn't make much of a difference for me as i don't normally use it for other purposes on daily basis.

2. How did people communicate before the invention of the telephone?
Via letters or just by meeting each other and talking :)

3. What feature you think is lacking with today's latest phones?
I think today's phones have all the features you could ever need.
Maciej P s16488 said…
1) Probably very similar to how it looks currently. Probably i'd just miss few calls and text messages. If i had to give up phone entirely (and let's say i can't communicate with other through internet) then i'd spend more time with friends who live near me.

2) They used to live in societies that lives closer to eachother. I believe there was more visiting eachother as it was (except for letters) only way of communication with your friends.

3) I don't have latest phone so i don't really know what they can do, but i guess that right now only thing they possibly lack is fridge.
Bartosz Barnat said…
1. What would your day look like without a phone?
I guess it would look similar to my every day. I would go to work, study, read a book, learn something new, go to the gym, meet with my friends. I don't think it would change anything, maybe only that I would go visit my friends without an invitation.

2. How did people communicate before the invention of the telephone?
Well they communicated in many many ways but when it comes to my parents and grandparents they were doing it by post (of course when it comes to communication at long distances).

3. What feature you think is lacking with today's latest phones?
Perfect translation to every language just by talking to your phone. I mean you are talking to someone on your phone and it is translating your language to the person's you are speaking to language in real time so you both would be able to communicate fluently.
August Micota said…
1. What would your day look like without a phone?
Normal day at work wouldn't be any different, only difference would appear in the car as then i would need to listen to the radio instead to podcasts on my phone.

2. How did people communicate before the invention of the telephone?
In many many different ways, letters, speaking, notes, pictograms, images.

3. What feature you think is lacking with today's latest phones?
More advanced artificial intelligence.
s15385 said…
1. What would your day look like without a phone?
Probably the same as with a phone. Only communication with family and friends would be harder. But I think most of people couldn't imagine living without smartphone for longer period of time.

2. How did people communicate before the invention of the telephone?
Before the invention of the phone people communicated via letters or meeting each other.

3. What feature you think is lacking with today's latest phones?
I think potential of artificial intelligence is not fully used.
1. What would your day look like without a phone?
I think my day without a phone wouldn't be much different from how I live now. I use the phone only on the way to work and back, browsing the Internet to make the time pass faster. At work, I also sometimes look at the phone, but it's not a big deal. I use the phone only because of the Messenger and the ability to call/text, only to keep in touch with people who are important to me. I do not play on the phone, nor do I use any special social networks or popular applications.

2. How did people communicate before the invention of the telephone?
Before the invention of the telephone, of course, the most popular form of communication were letters, maybe pigeon mail, or something similar. Nothing else comes to my mind.

3. What feature you think is lacking with today's latest phones?
I think phones lack more independence. I mean solutions like intelligent personal assistants: Siri or Cortana. I believe that if smartphones had their own "life", they could significantly simplify the lives of their owners by completing or writing down tasks on their own, saving meetings, solving certain problems, coming up with new ideas, solutions, etc.
Maciej Szczypek said…
1. What would your day look like without a phone?
It would not really change that much. I have too even much information channels to use to communicate with people.

2. How did people communicate before the invention of the telephone?
I believe letters were main way of communication. I can not think of any other solutions from the past.

3. What feature you think is lacking with today's latest phones?
Definitely privacy. It just delivers too much information about all of us to very different receivers.
Bartosz Warda said…
As far as I am concerned, it would be hard for me to abandon my phone for a day, because I use a lot of helpful applications for instance for checking the weather or some navigational apps. You are right, it is in most cases better to meet friends in person rather than online.
Bartosz Warda said…
We could do such an experiment that we will not use our mobile phones. We could spend that time with friends or with our family, provided that we will leave our phones at home. And now with the fridge.. You did perfectly troll me and I will probably google in a moment “phone with a build in fridge” and I will probably find something relatable. :p
Bartosz Warda said…
It is good for you that you can cope without any help provided from the phone. My parents and grandparents also were communicating with other people using letters. And as far as I know it was pleasurable and kind of comfortable for them. You are right, It would be convenient to have such a translator. In the near future with proper usage of artificial intelligence, it could be possible.
Bartosz Warda said…
So your day would not change that much. Maybe give such an experiment a try. Artificial intelligence needs time in order to progress and we are developing pretty fast in this particular subject.
Bartosz Warda said…
I understand that your family and friends are not in Warsaw right now, so it could be hard for you to communicate with them without any phone. And I also think, that the subject of artificial intelligence is not completely exhausted. As an IT
student, I try to learn as much as I can in order to make the programs with AI better.
Bartosz Warda said…
I understand, that if someone took your phone for a day, it would probably not affect your daily tasks and life. Maybe it's worth using popular social networking sites sometimes. For example, I recently found old friends there whom I haven't seen for a good few years. It's interesting what you write about intelligent personal assistant and I really like the idea.
Bartosz Warda said…
I understand that you could function without a telephone. Personally, it would be difficult for me to cope without the phone. I also agree that the phones drain too much private information from us. This should be regulated in some way.
Anton Chechel said…
1. What would your day look like without a phone?
In truth, almost nothing would change, because I prefer a laptop rather than a phone and spend more time in front of it. If I hadn't the phone, would change only that I couldn't make not very important notes and listen to music.

2. How did people communicate before the invention of the telephone?
Well, before the invention of the phone, a radio was doing a good this function, but it was a little bigger, more energy intensive and with a smaller range. You also were able to write a regular letter and send it by mail, or just came and talk live.

3. What feature do you think is lacking with today's latest phones?
Phones are evolving so quickly that their functionality has become much greater than required. So it seems to me that phones have everything thay need now, except for the large battery capacity.
1.I have a lot of days like this and it's not really tragedy. I know nowadays people can't imagine making it through day without their phone, but I actually like it a lot. Those days are the most peaceful one.

2.There were many different ways before phones to communicate for long distances. Most commonly known and still used is sending letters or postcards.

3.I guess there was something special about seeing someone's handwriting, even scribbles or blots. The possibility of keeping physically letters and re-reading them after some time. It may sound sentimental but in fact it brought irreplaceable values with itself. I am a practical person and I'm not suggesting to totally opt out of telephones and start writing only letters over again. But I think there should still be some particular situations in life where people rather prefer sending traditional letters than emails or texting each other.
Bartosz Warda said…
Your arguments sound very reasonable. Laptop has much more functionalities rather than a phone. And as for battery capacity, I've heard that Tesla is working on some high capacity batteries for cars and it will be innovative. So I hope that it will have a use with phones as well.
Bartosz Warda said…
True, days without a phone are for chilling and also people tend to be more productive. The way, that you are implying is commonly used while engaged couple invites for a wedding or when people send postcards from abroad. I really like the sentimental part of sending handwritten letters.

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