It's True, You Really Can't Do Philosophy With Smoke Signals

Friday’s communication experiment was a day to remember.  I actually started out the day feeling kind of nervous to be honest.  I was worried that my teachers would call on me in class and consequently, it would be rather difficult to answer their query.  This proved to be very true as the day progressed.  When others, not necessarily teachers, asked me questions or commented on something to me it was nearly impossible to relay my thoughts and feelings/opinions.  On the contrary, illustrating simple commands was relatively simple. When looking back on this aspect of the experience, I was able to relate it to a concept from Postman’s book. In chapter one he emphasizes the fact that “you can’t do philosophy with smoke signals.”  Experiencing this on Friday cemented this idea into my mind.  Trying to illustrate complex concepts with the simple forms of communications we were allowed was nearly impossible, just like Postman said with his smoke signal analogy. The simple forms of expression took away from the message.  Overall, I believe Friday’s experiment was a success, specifically with helping me to understand Postman’s premise by experiencing it rather than just reading it.