The Importance of Language

            I did this experiment of using no symbolic language with a friend. I explained it to her before beginning so that she would not think I was just being rude. We were catching up with each other after some time of not talking, so that helped to actually keep the conversation going. During the conversation it was very hard for me to not make signs assuring her that I was listening. For example, I had to catch myself and stop myself from saying “Mhm” and nodding my head various times. I also could not give her my opinion or advice on what she was talking to me about. Therefore, it became less of a conversation since I was just a listener, and it got a little boring. Near the end of the fifteen minutes, I could tell that my friend was getting a little bored of talking “alone”. Her voice became lower with less enthusiasm and it became harder for her to keep talking. Overall, we were able to compete the experiment but I felt rude for not holding an actual conversation with her or show her that I was actually listening.

            My partner was definitely in control of the conversation the whole time. She was the only one allowed to talk or use any other form of language. Therefore, she was in charge of bringing up the topics that she wanted and changing to different topics when she wanted to. She actually avoided asking me questions because she knew I could not respond. In this case, my friend had complete power in this conversation. She was able to talk about whatever she wanted and nobody would interrupt her. She could also change subjects whenever she wanted.

            In the scenario of different cultures, the culture with the spoken language has the advantage over the one that does not. With spoken language it is easier to communicate complex ideas. It will be much easier to explain these ideas so people will understand what you are trying to convey. With this advantage and many more, the speaking culture will probably feel like they are superior to the culture that does not use this language. Also, if the speaking culture tries to communicate with the other they will probably get annoyed. They would have a bad attitude because they do not receive feedback or might not understand what the other person is saying. An example of such scenario today would be between those who can speak and the deaf community. Although some deaf people can speak, some only use sign language.

            For the second part of the experiment, I felt a little better because I was able to actually hold a conversation with my friend. I was giving her feedback and we could both ask and answer questions. However, it was still difficult to contain myself from nodding and moving my hands. Again, there were many occasions where I had to catch myself and put my hands down from trying to make an expression with them. It was also difficult to not use different tones, especially when I was trying to express agreement or excitement. I think the hardest aspect was trying to contain my facial movements/expressions. For instance, it was very hard to not move my eyebrows and to not smile/laugh. This time, my friend enjoyed the conversation more. She was having a little fun trying to make me laugh, but also calling me out when I did anything I told her I was not supposed to. She did not have much difficulty understanding me because even without the body language, I could express myself with words. My words were sufficient language to explain the ideas I wanted to get across.

            This part of the experiment showed me that our signs are sort of extra. It is not necessary to have many hand motions or facial expressions in order to get your idea across. Although these signs do help to make a conversation more interesting or expressive, they are not very necessary. With body language, people get to see the emotions that the other person feels about what they are saying. They also get more descriptive information about what they are talking. It could be showing the size of something with hands or showing an action with the whole body. Overall, it is and extra element that adds to the whole conversation.

            The advantage of being able to read body language is that it enables everyone to get the point across more clearly. An example would be that if a person does not know what left means, they will still know what way to go when a person points to the left. Benefits like this from body language could help find resources, survive, and reproduce.

            People who can not read body language would be those who are partially or completely blind. Sometimes body language can be deceiving so it might be better to not see it. Such a situation would be when somebody does a rude body sign. It is always better to live without the negativity, so it will not make people feel bad. 

Piltdown Hoax

     In 1912, archaeologist Charles Dawson claimed to have found a piece of an ancient human skull. His discovery occurred near the English town Louis, in the Piltdown village. He claimed that he had found a jawbone, which was apparently part of the same skull.The shape of the bone was like the jawbone of an ape, but the teeth were flat like a human's. Dawson invited the geologist Arthur Woodward and French paleontologist father Pierre Tay to his investigation. With their support, the discovery was thought to be the first remains of primitive humans to be found in England. It was believed that the species that directly connected apes and humans had been found. Another supporter of the conclusion was English anatomist, Arthur Keith. The newspapers called this discovery the Piltdown Man. 
     However, after World War II scientists ha learned to roughly date fossils through fluorine testing. In 1949 a fluorine test was done on the Piltdown fossils and the results showed that they were pretty young, far younger than what they were presented as. Then, in 1953 scientist launched the first full-scale analysis on the fossils with better dating methods. This led to the discovery that the bones had been stained by hand and the fossils had probably been cut using a steel knife. Under a microscope the teeth showed evidence that they had been filed down. It was also discovered that the jawbone was less than 100 years old, and was from a female orangutan. The pieces that did not match to a human skull were completely removed so the reality was not discovered earlier. Dawson was the main suspect of planning the hoax, and it was later found that he also forged at least half a dozen of other archaeological finds. Only a few people thought Woodward was the co-conspirator because he kept searching for more fossils even after Dawson had died. Father Tay stayed quiet after the reveal of the hoax so he is believed to have been a co-conspirator. Keith did have a big motive to go along with the lie because it supported his personal theory on human evolution. Martin Hinton, a volunteer at the Natural History Museum, became another suspect. There was evidence against him, because carved bones with the same stain that was on the Piltdown Man were found in his trunk.
     There were various human faults that came into play for this hoax. One of them was jealousy from some scientists who did not like that primitive remains had been found in other countries, but not in England. Another factor was ego/pride, because England felt proud that their human ancestors might be the oldest of all the ones found. In addition, I think the human fault of following people according to prestige/fame played a role. People were afraid to question the findings of these recognized people. Questioning and re-testing is a large part of the scientific process, and all of these faults created a barrier that did not allow for questioning. Therefore, they negatively impacted the scientific process.
     The positive aspects of the scientific process that helped to reveal the hoax, were better lab tests and dating methods. The new technique of fluorine testing that developed after WWII helped to obtain dating results. Also, a wide study by different scientists allowed new information to be discovered. The use of microscopes also helped to gain the detailed information that served as evidence for the hoax reveal.
     I do not think that it is possible to remove the human factor from science, because it is humans who are conducting the experiments and making the discoveries. I think there will always be an element of human nature that is faulty and that will get mixed into the process. I do not think that I would remove the human factor from science, because it is what makes it a process. The scientific process occurs through the re-testing of existing experiments and material, so without the doubt of human error this process would not occur.
     The lesson I have learned is to question the information that I am given, especially from unverified sources. I learned that as humans, we will usually include self interest in the information we give out, so questioning information is a good idea. The possibility of having false information, even from known sources, is still there so it is a good habit to question information.