Communication Through Connection by Samantha Van Muyden https://padlet.com/svanm005/dsoflgysatt1qynb Exploring the communication theories presented in Star Trek: The Next Generation "Darmok" en-us 2022-05-25 00:06:52 UTC 2022-05-26 01:34:13 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4ab.png That feeling when... svanm005 https://padlet.com/svanm005/dsoflgysatt1qynb/wish/2198458472 ... you meet someone who finally understands all your obscure pop culture references]]> 2022-05-25 00:27:37 UTC https://padlet.com/svanm005/dsoflgysatt1qynb/wish/2198458472 svanm005 https://padlet.com/svanm005/dsoflgysatt1qynb/wish/2198464578 In the Star Trek episode "Darmok", the crew of the Enterprise finds themselves completely unable to communicate with an alien species because of the unique way they communicate. Instead of connecting sounds into words, words into sentences, and sentences into complete thoughts, the Tamarians instead communicate via references to their culture's myths. Rather than explicitly stating individual ideas, the Tamarians communicate complex thoughts, emotions, and context by recalling myths from the past that hold significant context in their history. ]]> 2022-05-25 00:32:30 UTC https://padlet.com/svanm005/dsoflgysatt1qynb/wish/2198464578 Communication - Tamarian Style svanm005 https://padlet.com/svanm005/dsoflgysatt1qynb/wish/2198489885 If I wanted to describe to you a situation in which someone tricked me into opening up to them, and then once I relaxed a little with them, they took advantage of me and my naivete and used my trust against me to sabotage me... I could say all that. Or, I could just say "The Greeks at Troy" or even "The Trojan Horse" and most people would understand the reference. Because culturally, we all understand what the Greeks did in setting up the Trojan horse, how the Trojans fell for their ruse, and ultimately were defeated from the inside by the Greeks lying in wait, all of that context is transmitted just by mentioning the myth of the Trojan Horse. ]]> 2022-05-25 00:51:19 UTC https://padlet.com/svanm005/dsoflgysatt1qynb/wish/2198489885 Cultural Context svanm005 https://padlet.com/svanm005/dsoflgysatt1qynb/wish/2198504495 The communication of the Tamarians relies on shared cultural knowledge of myths and historical events from the past. In order for any utterance to have meaning between two people, both need to understand the full context of the mytheme they are referencing. On the Enterprise, was the crew members are debating how they might use their knowledge of the Tamarian system of communication, one of the crew members realizes the futility of trying, saying "Without the details, there is no understanding," ("Darmok", Star Trek: The Next Generation). What the crew realizes is that without understanding the cultural significance and context of the statements the Tamarians are making, there still is no way to communicate to them. It's like understanding the rules for how to put a sentence together in English, but not actually knowing what any of the words mean together.]]> 2022-05-25 01:01:44 UTC https://padlet.com/svanm005/dsoflgysatt1qynb/wish/2198504495 " If we pretend that “Shaka, when the walls fell” is a signifier, then its signified is not the fictional mythological character Shaka, nor the myth that contains whatever calamity caused the walls to fall, but the logic by which the situation itself came about. Tamarian language isn’t really language at all, but machinery," (Bogost). svanm005 https://padlet.com/svanm005/dsoflgysatt1qynb/wish/2200095228 Bogost, I. (2014, June 18). Shaka, When the Walls Fell. The Atlantic. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/06/star-trek-tng-and-the-limits-of-language-shaka-when-the-walls-fell/372107/ ]]> 2022-05-26 00:52:00 UTC https://padlet.com/svanm005/dsoflgysatt1qynb/wish/2200095228