How Communication Makes us Human | Thom Scott-Phillips | TEDxCEU
Summary
TLDRIn this engaging talk, the speaker, a cognitive scientist by day and a Lindy Hop dancer by night, explores the richness of human communication. They discuss how communication is not just about conveying information but also about expressing intentions, which is a unique aspect of human interaction. Drawing parallels to Edward Hopper's paintings and the dance form, the speaker highlights the diversity and flexibility of communication, which allows us to connect beyond our immediate surroundings and create complex social structures and cultural practices.
Takeaways
- 🎶 The speaker expresses a passion for Lindy Hop, a dance form with origins in African-American communities of Harlem, New York during the swing and jazz era.
- 🧠 The speaker is a cognitive scientist who studies communication, emphasizing the diversity and richness of human communication and its role in making us human.
- 🐠 The script compares human communication to the natural abilities of fish swimming or bats using echolocation, highlighting how ordinary communication is remarkable for humans.
- 🎨 It references Edward Hopper's painting 'Night Hawks' and his philosophy that if he could express something in words, there would be no need to paint it, relating to the idea of non-verbal communication.
- 🤔 The speaker discusses the imperfections in human communication but points out that given its complexity, it's remarkable how often we get it right.
- 📣 Communication is about intentions; we not only have intent but also reveal it to others through our actions and behaviors.
- 🍇 The script uses a berry-eating example to illustrate the difference between providing information and communicating intentions.
- 💡 The idea that communication involves revealing intentions is rooted in the philosophy of language and is a key concept in modern cognitive science.
- 🌐 The speaker suggests that the ability to communicate intentions allows for the flow of information that facilitates the invention of technologies, building of social institutions, and creation of cultural practices.
- 🕺 Dance, especially partner dance like Lindy Hop, is highlighted as a cultural practice that exploits and celebrates the biological and distinctly human aspect of communication through continuous expression and recognition of intentions.
- 👏 The script concludes with applause, indicating the speaker's successful conveyance of the importance and joy of human communication.
Q & A
What is the dance style called that is mentioned in the script?
-The dance style mentioned in the script is called Lindy Hop.
Where does the Lindy Hop dance style have its origins?
-The Lindy Hop dance style has its origins in the African-American communities of Harlem, New York during the era of swing and jazz.
What does the speaker do by profession?
-The speaker is a cognitive scientist by profession.
What is the main focus of the speaker's research in cognitive science?
-The speaker's main focus of research in cognitive science is communication.
What is the famous painting by Edward Hopper mentioned in the script?
-The famous painting by Edward Hopper mentioned in the script is 'Night Hawks.'
What themes are associated with Edward Hopper's 'Night Hawks' painting?
-The themes associated with Edward Hopper's 'Night Hawks' are melancholy, solitude, stoicism, and regret.
What does the speaker suggest about the nature of human communication?
-The speaker suggests that human communication is diverse, varied, flexible, rich, and often successful despite its imperfections.
What is the key point the speaker makes about intentions in communication?
-The key point the speaker makes about intentions in communication is that we not only have intent, but we also reveal our intentions to others.
How does the speaker describe the richness of human communication?
-The speaker describes the richness of human communication by emphasizing its ability to free us from the here and now, allowing us to communicate about anything.
What cultural practice does the speaker use as an example to illustrate the concept of communication as a continuous expression and recognition of intentions?
-The speaker uses partner dance as an example to illustrate the concept of communication as a continuous expression and recognition of intentions.
How does the speaker relate the concept of communication to the invention of complex technologies and the building of social institutions?
-The speaker relates the concept of communication to the invention of complex technologies and the building of social institutions by stating that the ability to express and recognize intentions allows for the flow of information, which facilitates these advancements.
Outlines
💃 The Joy of Dance and Communication
The speaker begins by expressing their love for the spontaneous dance style, Lindy Hop, which originated in African-American communities in Harlem, New York, during the swing and jazz era. They draw a parallel between the dance and human communication, highlighting the continuous, improvised interaction between two people. The speaker, a cognitive scientist by day, introduces the theme of human communication's diversity and richness, and its role in making us human. They use the metaphor of a bat's echolocation to emphasize how ordinary communication is remarkable to humans, and reference Edward Hopper's painting 'Night Hawks' to illustrate the idea that sometimes words are insufficient to express what can be conveyed through art or non-verbal means.
🗣️ The Diversity and Intention Behind Human Communication
This paragraph delves into the vast array of human communication methods, from talking and pointing to shrugging and dancing. The speaker uses examples to show how the same gesture can have different meanings and purposes, such as reminding a friend of a conversation or signaling a joke. They emphasize that while human communication is not perfect, it is remarkable how often it is effective. The speaker introduces the concept that communication is about intentions, not just information, using the example of eating berries to illustrate the difference between providing information and revealing intentions. They explain that human communication is special because it involves revealing our intentions to others, which is a key idea in cognitive science.
🌐 The Power of Intention in Communication and Cultural Practices
In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses the broader implications of intention-based communication for humanity. They argue that this form of communication frees us from the constraints of the present moment, allowing us to discuss anything at any time. This capability has enabled the development of complex technologies, social institutions, and cultural practices. The speaker also touches on the rewarding nature of communication, suggesting that it is so enjoyable that humans have created cultural practices, like partner dance, that are essentially conversations through movement. They conclude by applauding the deeply biological and distinctly human aspect of communication.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Lindy Hop
💡Cognitive Science
💡Communication
💡Intentions
💡Echolocation
💡Diversity
💡Human
💡Cultural Practices
💡Complex Technologies
💡Social Institutions
💡Expression
Highlights
Introduction of the Lindy Hop dance and its origins in African-American communities of Harlem, New York during the swing and jazz era.
The speaker's profession as a cognitive scientist and their research focus on communication.
The comparison of human communication to a bat's echolocation, highlighting its natural and remarkable nature.
A quotation from Edward Hopper emphasizing the non-verbal expression of ideas through art.
The diversity and richness of human communication methods beyond verbal language.
The importance of intentions in communication and how they are revealed, not just the information itself.
The difference between providing information and communicating intentions, illustrated with the example of eating berries.
The unique aspect of human communication that involves expressing and recognizing intentions.
The philosophical and cognitive science roots of the idea that communication is about intentions.
How communication allows humans to transcend the constraints of time and space.
The role of communication in facilitating the invention of complex technologies and the building of social institutions.
The enjoyment and reward humans derive from the act of communication, including in cultural practices like dance.
The cultural significance of partner dance as a form of non-verbal communication that mirrors conversation.
The biological basis of human communication and its distinction from other species' methods.
The applause at the end signifying the audience's appreciation for the insights shared on communication.
Transcripts
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
No
[Music]
but really love monkey paw today
[Music]
thank you thank you can I have a special
round of applause please for my friend
and dance partner
booyaka hola
nothing of what you just saw was
choreographed the dance is called the
Lindy Hop it has its origins in the
african-american communities of Harlem
New York during the era of swing and
jazz and like other partner dances and
like an ordinary conversation - it's a
continuous improvised back and forth
moment by moment adaptation between two
people I love it it is so much fun and
soon I'm going to tell you a key reason
why
however while I'm passionate about dance
it is not my profession by day I'm a
cognitive scientist cognitive science is
the science of how the mind works and in
particular I research communication so
I'd like to talk to you today about the
diversity and the richness of human
communication and also about what holds
it all together I'm going to talk about
how communication makes us human
let me put it this way
if you're a fish and swimming is easy
its natural you don't even notice it for
what it is if your bat then echolocation
is normal you emit sound waves and you
use the echoes that they create to learn
what about what's physically around you
now to a human being like me like you
that is remarkable it's amazing to a bat
ordinary everyday communication is like
this for humans and I'm going to get
precise about that very soon and but
first I want to I want to give you a
quotation from a famous American painter
Edward Hopper middle of 20th century
realist painter this is probably his
most famous
this is probably his most famous
painting it's called night Hawks and
it's on public display in the Art
Institute of Chicago and the themes of
night Hawks are themes that recur
throughout toppers work words that
people use to describe it
are words like melancholy solitude
stoicism regret Hopper was once asked
about these themes and more generally
about what his paintings mean his reply
if I could say it in words there'd be no
reason to paint if I could say it in
words there'd be no reason to paint I
think that's a feeling we can all relate
to in a way you can ask me to put it in
words but I'm expressing myself this way
because this is the best way to express
the things I want to express now we
can't all paint like Hopper can but we
can talk we can point we can shrug we
can dance we can use a little movement
of the head so we remind our friend
quickly and efficiently about that
conversation we had last week well the
very same movement could be used for
very different ends you could use it to
order an assassination you could start a
war some people leave their dirty
laundry in the middle of the living room
as a way to remind their partner to do
the housework we can wink as a way to
share a joke to communicate in secret
human communication is incredibly
diverse it's varied it's flexible its
rich and we're also pretty good at
getting it right or finding the right
means for the right moment
we're not perfect of course
communication is imperfect but keep the
big picture in mind it's not like we
wink at someone and then accidentally
start a war
that is not what happens there's
misunderstandings at the edges but given
how varied human communication is it's
kind of remarkable how often we get it
right or close enough it's pretty
special
it's like echolocation in bats okay so
what what holds all together how does it
work
communication is all about intentions
and the key point is that we don't just
have intent we reveal our intentions now
I know that point is a little bit
abstract so I'm going to elaborate now
with a little toy example suppose that I
want you to know that these berries here
are edible and tasty now one way I can
do that is is just this I can just eat
them the information is there if you
want it that they are edible that I like
them another way I can try and meet my
goals is to not eat the berries at all
but instead I could mime eating them
perhaps in a slightly exaggerated way
and with my behavior directed towards
you it's a slightly comic exaggeration I
know but it makes the point notice the
difference in the first case there was
information there that the berries are
edible and tasty and I liked them but I
did not communicate with you in the
second case no evidence that the berries
are tasty I did not eat them what there
was evidence of a my intentions I showed
you that I want you to believe that the
berries are edible you don't have to
believe that of course that is up to you
maybe I'm trying to trick you maybe
they're poisonous the point is I showed
you what I want to do to your mind and
that's that's what communication is
about human communication is special
because has these extra
years of information we don't just
provide evidence of the topic itself of
the berries or whatever else we provide
evidence of our goals in interaction
this idea has its roots in the
philosophy of language and it's now a
key idea in modern cognitive science let
me finish by broadening out to the
bigger picture which is that this way of
communicating has enormous riches for us
as a species and that's because it frees
us it frees us from the here and the now
think about it if I have to provide
evidence of the topic itself the berries
whatever
well that's very constraining it means I
can only communicate about that topic
when I have it here if on the other hand
I have to provide evidence of my
intentions well they are always here and
they can be about anything at all it's
hugely powerful it allows us to
communicate about anything the flow of
information easily between us and it
happens on a grand scale - this is what
facilitates the invention of complex
technologies the building of social
institutions the creation of new
cultural practices it's also fun - it's
very rewarding we all like doing it in
fact it's so rewarding to do this
expressing and recognizing intentions
that we sometimes invent cultural
practices that are in a way just
communication that's what partner dance
is all about it's two bodies just like
in a conversation
simultaneously continuously expressing
and recognizing their intentions towards
one another it's a cultural thing dance
is a cultural practice but it's one that
exploits and celebrates something that
is deeply biological and distinctly
human communication
[Applause]
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