I picked up a National Geographic magazine when I was sitting in the hair salon last week and was immediately intrigued by an article on dolphins.
The article described research that is being done with dolphins to try to understand the amazing intellect, memory, and communication skills of the dolphins.
Dolphins, because of the size of their brains and their notable group interactions and social interaction patterns, are thought to be among the smartest and most communicative animals on the planet.
Using underwater audio systems, scientists have found what they believe is proof of an elaborate communication system that allows dolphins to actually plan, strategize, and innovate.
In the words of one of the researchers, finding out what dolphins mean when they click and whistle and blow is made more difficult because of our tendency to try to parallel their communication with ours. To date, the researchers have not been able to translate the “talk” of dolphins into a language that we can understand.
With the recent events that have taken place across the United States and in places like Paris, Beirut, and Kenya, I’m not so sure that humans are doing a very good job translating the language and communication of others humans either.
We become limited in what we can learn about other people when we look through the filter of our experience, our perspective and our opinion – without considering that other may see or think or understand or communicate differently.
Last week I mentioned to a student that I was deeply saddened by the death of the father and grandfather of some dear friends – an incredible man who had led an amazing life after being the lone survivor of his family at Auschwitz. My student said “I don’t know what that is.”
We click and blow and whistle and others have no idea what it means.
People of different religions. Those with different political views. Black lives matter but so do those dressed in blue. College students in protest and administrators who are trying to respond. The conflicts taking part all over the world has never seemed to be quite as driven by our lack of effective communication and empathy for the other.
When I read the news, the seeming double standards are so frustrating to me. One candidate for presidency is raked over the coals for alleged misrepresentations in his pre-college conversations while our sitting president has kept his college records hidden. We are urged by one political group to not judge all Muslims as terrorists while that same group judges all gun owners as potential mass shooters. Lies by one person are a miscommunication and a “witch hunt” while lies by another is proof of a flawed character. I am sure that those who share differing opinions can point out the double standards from the other side as well.
Are the standards really double or do we just hear the whistles and clicks and noises out of the blow holes in a way that we selectively understand?
Researchers working with dolphins have begun their studies based on the premise that dolphins communicate effectively with each other and then use that communication to support both cooperative and innovative behaviors as members of a community. The objective is to understand what exactly they are saying with the eventual goal of being able to communicate with them. Assuming that their language can and will someday be understood and translated by humans seems both naïve and arrogant.
Humans on the other hand are the same species. Our language and cultures may be different but we share the same human experience. Surely, we can find a way to better communicate?
