Cognitive Elements of Communication I

1. Cognitive Elements of Communication I

2. “The fundamental problem of communication is that of reproducing at one point either exactly or approximately a message selected at another point.” Claude Shannon A Mathematical Theory of Communication The Bell System Technical Journal, Vol. 27, pp. 379–423, 623–656, July, October, 1948

3. The rumfrumsbiggled the pooba

4. The rumfrums biggled the pooba

5. The artichokes ambled the signpost

6. What is a sentence? A grammatical unit that is syntactically independent The American Heritage Dictionary A sequence of words constituting a statement, question, or a command that begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop when written down Collins Essential English Dictionary A sentence is a complete unit of thought Little, Brown Handbook

7. The rumfrums biggled the pooba

8. The electrons ionised the gas

9. A simple sentence or a declarative sentence The electrons ionised the gas The electrons ionised the gas The electrons ionised the gas The electrons ionisedthe gas subject verb object

10. Remember: The main actor should always be the subject of the sentence

11. Scientific literature does not have to have boring qualities. Scientific literature does not have to be boring. Boring qualities are not always a part of scientific literature.

12. Over time, American society has come to value individuality. Individuality in American society has over time become valued. Over time, individuality has come to be valued by American society.

13. The focus of American philosophy is rugged individualism. American philosophy is rugged individualism. Rugged individualism is the focus of American philosophy.

14. The Passive Voice Passive: The ball was kicked by Janet Passive: The ball was kicked Active: Janet kicked the ball

15. Passive: The gas was ionised by the electrons Active: The electrons ionised the gas

16. The pooba sab biggled osi the rumfrums The gas was ionised by the electrons

17. Exercise

18. Sample answers 1. The emergence of swine flu occurred in the US in 1998 and hog farms across North America have since found it to be endemic

19. Sample answers 1.Swine flu emerged in the US in 1998 and has since become endemic in hog farms across North America.

20. Sample answers 2. Equipped with a suite of pig, bird and human genes, the evolution of swine virus has been happening rapidly.

21. Sample answers Swine virus has been evolving rapidly, equipped with a suite of pig, bird and human genes.

22. Sample answers 3.Many animals are known to become infected with flu, including waterfowl, pigs and humans.

23. Sample answers Flu infects many animals, including waterfowl, pigs and humans.

24. Sample answers 4. Were a pig to catch two kinds of flu at once, it could start to act as a mixing vessel, and it is possible for hybrids to emerge with genes from both viruses.

25. Sample answers When a pig suffers from two kinds of flu, hybrid viruses can emerge with genes from both.

26. Sample answers 5. Few fossil traces were left by the very first animals.

27. Sample answers The very first animals left few fossil traces.

28. Sample answers 6. A sketch of our great-to-the-nth grandmother is slowly being pieced together by evolutionary detectives by comparing the genes of living organisms and painstakingly working out family trees.

29. Sample answers Evolutionary detectives are slowly piecing together a sketch of our great-to-the-nth- grandmother by comparing the genes of living organisms and painstakingly working out family trees.

30. Sample answers 7. The confirmation of this close kinship comes from DNA sequence comparisons.

31. Sample answers DNA sequence comparisons confirm this close kinship

32. Remember: Make the main actor in your thoughts the subject of your sentences

33. Paragraphs Make your writing easy for the reader: Set up expectations... and then meet them

34. A puzzle: A bat and ball together cost $1.10, and the bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much is the ball?

35. A puzzle: A bat and ball together cost $1.10, and the bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much is the ball? Answer: 10 cents?

36. A puzzle: A bat and ball together cost $1.10, and the bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much is the ball? Answer: 10 cents? no... 5 cents!! (Shane Frederick, 2002)

37. A different puzzle: A bat and ball together cost $1.10, and the bat costs $1.05. How much is the ball?

38. “Framing Effects” (Daniel Kahneman, Princeton University)‏ Nobel Prize, 2002 The human mind comes to information with preconceptions and expectations; it easily falls into error or mis-interpretation It is not only the content of the information that matters; structure matters as well

39. Paragraphs Make your writing easy for the reader: Set up expectations... and then meet them

40. A simple technique: topic sentences A) make a claim, and then B) back it with evidence One sentence of a paragraph should state the main point or claim; this is called the “topic sentence” and is usually the first sentence. Other sentences in the paragraph support or explore the point made by this topic sentence. Each paragraph should:

41. Making Banking Boring Paul Krugman, New York Times First paragraph Thirty-plus years ago, everyone knew that banking was, well, boring. When I was a graduate student in economics, only the least ambitious of my classmates sought careers in the financial world. Even then, investment banks paid more than teaching or public service — but not that much more.

42. Second Paragraph In the years that followed, of course, banking became anything but boring. Wheeling and dealing flourished, and pay scales in finance shot up, drawing in many of the nation’s best and brightest young people (O.K., I’m not so sure about the “best” part). And we were assured that our supersized financial sector was the key to prosperity. A small portion of each paragraph makes its key point. The rest gives detail.

43. Third Paragraph Instead, however, finance turned into the monster that ate the world economy. Even one sentence can be an effective paragraph

44. The result of good topic sentences: text reads as a sequence of claims, each supported by evidence Topic sentence: making the main point or claim [Remainder of paragraph, giving evidence for this point, illustrating with examples, etc.] Topic sentence: making another point or claim [Remainder of paragraph, giving evidence for this point, illustrating with examples, etc.] And so on... Each topic sentence sends your reader forward with expectations of what they'll hear next

45. Exercise: A less obvious example

46. Good topic sentences bring out the logical skeleton of the argument; they turn it into a STORY... 1. Bio-mathematics has been a runaway success 2. An exception is sympatric speciation 3. At first glance, it seems simple to understand... 4. In sexual populations, the problem is...

47. Good topic sentences bring out the logical skeleton of the argument; they turn it into a STORY... 1. Bio-mathematics has been a runaway success 2. An exception is sympatric speciation 3. At first glance, it seems simple to understand... 4. In sexual populations, the problem is... terrible topic sentence!!

48. Good topic sentences bring out the logical skeleton of the argument; they turn it into a STORY... 1. Bio-mathematics has been a runaway success 2. An exception is sympatric speciation 3. At first glance, it seems simple to understand... 4. In fact, it is not so simple. In sexual populations, the problem is...

49. A simple technique: topic sentences One sentence of a paragraph should state the main point; this is called the “topic sentence” and is usually the first sentence. Other sentences in the paragraph support or explore the point made by this topic sentence.

50. Another example .....