Communication In the Workplace Essay -- Effective Communication

In an interview with George Lakoff, a linguistics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Ian A. Boal examines the social, political and economic implications of language and its relationship to the conduit metaphor. The interview, make in Boals essay, Body, Brain and Communication, takes a closer look at the conduit metaphor in connection with computers and communication on the Internet and World Wide Web. to a greater extent importantly, Boal-who is also a Berkeley professor-solicits Lakoffs views of computer technology and artificial intelligence their effects on human values and the basic way people communicate and attend information in todays world. Essentially, the conduit metaphor enables thoughts and ideas to be communicated through connecting cables and wireless transmissions using language as objects and metaphors. An effective conduit metaphor causes the listener to receive and understand the convey behind a message without having to engage in too much thou ght. Comprehension of an idea is achieved intuitively, instinctively or with feeling. The conduit metaphor is a basic emblem belonging to a larger family of metaphors, many of which can be found on Lakoffs Conceptual Metaphors home page at Berkeleys Cognitive Science net site, http//cogsci.berkeley.edu/. The conduit metaphor, as described by its creator Michael Reddy, suggests that the mind can interpret ideas as objects that can be put into words, and thoughts are the organization or purpose of those objects. Reddy says the objects that make up words or language reside in a storage container, or memory, where thoughts and ideas can be retrieved or recalled when needed. When ideas are reborn into words, they can be communicated to someo... ...perform many of their job functions. Just imagine, however, if computers had the ability to not only assume a particular function, but also could think and case in the same manner as you and I. Are human beings really ready for this type of innovation? The answer to this question may come in the beginning that we think. Works Cited Boal, Ian A. Body, Brain and Communication An Interview with George Lakoff. Composing Cyberspace. Ed. Richard Holeton. Boston. McGraw hillock Publishing. 1998. (21-31). Ehrenreich, Barbara. Put Your Pants On, Demonboy. Composing Cyberspace. Ed. Richard Holeton. Boston. McGraw Hill Publishing. 1998. (80). Lakoff, George. Conceptual Metaphors. 22 Mar.1994. 23 Mar. 2000. http//cogsci.berkeley.edu/ Shirley, John. Wolves of the Plateau. Composing Cyberspace. Ed. Richard Holeton. Boston. McGraw Hill Publishing. 1998. (135-141).