COMMUNICATION

Last year I was requested by one of my friend to have a discussion on "The origin of communication" so that he could develop an idea to make a synopsis report. Our discussion started with "interaction" rather than "communication". Our discussion on communication was also a communication. We concluded that the communication was the factor without which even the universe would have not come into existence.

For communication between two subjects, 3 things are essential:
Transmitter (which transmits a signal)
Signal(which carries information)
Receptor or Receiver (which receives a signal)

In general after getting received, a signal (say an audio signal, received by ear) is amplified ( like middle ear amplifies sound by 3 small bones) and then converted into other form (electrical signal in inner ear), which is transmitted to other center (like brain) where it could be properly interpreted to understand what transmitter wants to convey. One other friend suggested that there was a place for one more element. Fourth element that makes communication process complete is FEEDBACK, because the process remains incomplete until the sender of the message receives the feedback.

How important the communication is? Communication is meant for dynamism. If there is no communication, things will remain unchanged, definitely. Lets start with non living world. Here we must use term interaction rather than communication. We all know that 2 H & 1 O makes water. But if we put hydrogen and oxygen in 2:1 in a flask, will we get water? My chemistry is not that much strong, but i do believe "NO", unless certain conditions like particular temperature, pressure, light intensity etc. are not fulfilled. Without these particular conditions, interaction will definitely be there but not that much useful to create water. so for proper and healthy communication/interaction for particular objective, certain conditions or circumstances matter a lot.

Without communication/interaction, life would have not been possible. Around genetic material there is cytoplasm (in prokaryotes) outside which there is a membrane keeping the inside very different from outside. How can a structure remain that much integrated? Is it possible if there is no interaction between various molecules? I simply mean to say that it was the proper interaction between certain molecules, when life favoring conditions ( surrounding conditions) were there, that life appeared on earth. This is a perfect example of role of surroundings for fruitful result. All planets must b having some amount of same material which makes life. Then why there is no life? Its because life favoring conditions are not there.

We know that life originated as single celled organisms. Multicellulars came million of years after the first uni-cellulars. Why so late? I got a suitable answer from a book which had an impression that it took million of years to develop transmitter, proper signals, and receivers which could make two cells to communicate for association. so because of communication, multicellulars came into existence. And then tissues, organs, organ systems etc. in the same way.

We concluded that the Non-livings interact while the livings communicate. Or we can say that the "Interaction" is a sort of communication among non-livings.

I remember a statement from an embryology book. Every organism, including human has to start the journey from a single cell, where it has to respire, circulate, think, digest, excrete etc. when it has no lungs, no heart, no brain, no alimentary canal, no kidney etc. It divides and communicate, and divides and communicate and so on. all it brings, is proper understanding among the cells, and creates a division of labour. Now my eye is seeing, not for itself , but for whole body. But my eye is not performing gases exchange from surrounding for respiration, because it is getting oxygen in give n take relationship. Its nothing, but communication.

As lectured by my biochemistry teacher during M.Sc. class, there are 3 chief communication systems in our body which are running our life. These three are nervous system, endocrine system and mind (not brain). Certain cells ( transmitters) secrete hormones, growth factors etc. (signal molecules). These signal molecules reach to other cells called receivers. Receivers must b having proper receptors, only then they can recieve signals. Once signal is received, it is changed into another form and amplified and finally sent to other place with in cell, say nucleus, where ultimate effect is seen, like activation of particular gene, which changes reciever cell's physiology. Such change effects whole body.

same is with nervous system but here the signal is electrical signal.



Mind is something different, and complex too. Sometimes if we are given a pseudo-signal, theoretically effect should not come. But it has been found that sometimes effect comes, if we were not told that signal was fake. It is placebo effect. It simply means some communications are stronger than others.


When 2 organisms as whole communicate, social form of life come into picture. We r at peak of evolution only in term of brain development, not social. During animal behavior studies in M.Sc. we came to understand that many insects, like honey bee, are more social because of more evolved communication among them. They have gone one step more above organism level. So many scientists consider them as super-organisms. Division of labour is again there. We can say that, certain no. of bees are digestive system, other form circulatory system, other form defense system, queen and drone forms reproductive system etc. These systems are living for whole group,called, super-organism. Workers will die fighting with enemy to save group, same as million of cells in our body die and get generated to make us live as whole. Here group is important, than individuality.

We were quite satisfied with our discussion.

Whatever we know today is the result of communication too. A cell biology book mentioned that what he knows is what his brain has. We pass our brain content from generation to generation. But still, majority of phenomena and facts are unknown. We are not having receptors to sense signals delivered by those unknown facts. There is nothing in human mind which has not passed through our senses. for example, a person who was born blind, does not know shape, size, colors, distance etc. So in this case communication is not there because of lack of receptor. It means if there is some additional sense in cat, cat is knowing something which we don't. For a person who was born deaf, music doesn't exist. But it doesn't mean that there is no music in this world. Similarly we may be lacking that sense or receptor which can receive signals sent by GOD. That sense may be in dormant state but can be aroused. So here we reach the next dimension of communication, that is FAITH.


Now understand the meaning of this attachment. Its theme is communication