This cartoon highlights the progression of communication over historical ages. It relates to Chapter 4 in its discussion of how communication has evolved over time. On the left panel, it showcases early humans using primitive verbal expressions and speech like “OOG” and “ROLF”, while on the right panel, modern humans use text-based abbreviations like “OMG” and “ROFL” on mobile devices. The two panels convey the same messages but just in different forms. This cartoon captures the history of communication mentioned in the chapter, whereas humans used to mainly communicate in public speeches and face-to-face interaction during eras like the Classical Era and the Renaissance, to technologically mediated forms like texting and social media. It reflects how the New School period focuses on technological advancements and the impact of media and digital communication on human interaction.

This cartoon can be related to me, as a modern human who uses the same form of communication and abbreviations in my daily communication. This cartoon also makes me wonder if people in the past had similar method of communication, whereas they abbreviated messages in short forms for quickness. It’s a funny but accurate way to show how far we’ve come in the way we connect and share meaning.

This cartoon connects well with the first chapter of the book. In this chapter, authors introduced two models of communication – Linear Model and Transactional Model. In the Linear Model, communication directly flows from sender to receiver, but noise—anything that interferes with the message—can disrupt that process. In this cartoon, it showcases an office space, where co-workers/receivers misinterpreted the sender’s original message from ‘communication skills’ to ‘forgotten his pills’. This misinterpretation was created when confusion compounded by another participant interpreting the behavior as forgetfulness, showing how quickly a message can break down due to noise in the channel. The confusion of this cartoon further reinforces the element of the Linear Model and its idea of noise.

This can relate to my everyday life when it comes to text messaging my friends, family and coworkers. For example, if I type something autocorrect changes (like “skills” to “spills”), the person receiving it might misunderstand the entire message because of my mistake. In this situation, the noise would be the auto-correct feature of my phone’s software. Like the characters in the cartoon, the conversation can easily go off track if the receiver interprets the message differently than intended. This shows how even in simple communication, noise can significantly affect understanding.