コミュニケーション (Communication) SIMPLE yet COMPLEX (WHAT!?!?!?!)

     This week was a bit hellish for me.... Taking up a new language in a short time is really difficult. My foreign language class (which is Japanese if you haven't guessed by now :D ) is only scheduled on only on Tuesdays and Thursdays so discussions are a bit fast. My mind was constantly drawing Japanese characters this whole week. I never knew communication can be so difficult. But according to Aristotle communication is as easy as 1, 2, and 3. Literally communication for Aristotle had only 3 major components to it. ( Maybe he didn't know of Japanese back then and its 92 characters excluding kanji )

     Aristotle can be considered the GRAND DADDY of all communication theories. It was his Rhetorical Theory which laid the foundation for the basic grasp or idea of communication. Simple yet sensible is what I say to Aristotle's rhetorical theory. Aristotle broke down communication into 3 basic components; speaker or source, the message, and the receiver . The rhetorical theory is so simple yet so profound even by today's standard and Aristotle was able to think of this way way way way way way back. I learned that the thing about Aristotle's communication theory was, that it was "speaker" centered. Although it is more logical to blame the speaker than the receiver I deeply think that all 3 of the components of the rhetorical model can be or contribute to a failure in communication. Communication is said to be simple by others but to me I view it as a complex puzzle. One wrong piece can screw up the whole puzzle even if it is just a 3 piece puzzle. My opinion is that the speaker has the obligation to find the most effective way of communicating with someone. Why would you use Japanese on someone who can only understand English? The receiver should also share in the responsibility of actually "understanding" the message. If you are an American going to Japan then you should at least take the time to learn some phrases. I learned this the hard way when me and my Family went to Hong Kong, although I maybe Chinese I am the only one in my family who didn't study study Chinese. Communication to me in Hong Kong was so far off that I had to find someone who could actually talk English to communicate to me where the nearest bathroom was. Failure in communication doesn't always fall to the speaker in my opinion.

 

     You might be saying that "Who is this guy to judge the GRAND DADDY's  communication theory?!?!". Well the wonderful thing about theories is that it is open to interpretation and to improvement as well. If questioning Aristotle's theory wasn't allowed we wouldn't have other communication theories today. Aristotle's theory lent itself to improvement and just like a Pokemon (Rhetorical theory evolved into --------------, congratulations!) evolved into a higher state and even branched out. For example, Harold Laswell's Social Communication Theory improved upon Aristotle's 3 component theory into a 5 component theory with the addition of the chosen medium and to what effect did the message have on the audience. From the simple 3 component theory a 5 component theory was born.
     This is what makes communication simple and complex at the same time. Sure we can say that communication all boils down to Aristotle's 3 component theory but at the same time we can still keep on dissecting  each component down. There is no one real theory that can actually explain the whole entire enchilada that is communication. Only different theories that explain various situations or factors that actually affect the whole variable process of communication.

     With the discussion after Communications class on Wednesday, I forgot some of my Japanese characters in my head and it got replaced with "Communication is a powerful tool, so powerful that even in its simplicity we still can't quite get the law but only theories. Complexity even in simplicity, that is communication.."