Ways of Communication

What comes to mind if I say: winged sandals, a staff entwined with snakes, or Greek mythology? Perhaps even a French luxury company? The answer is Hermes. This figure has long been associated with messages, travel, and the subtle art of understanding and interpreting meaning, a concept that later inspired the term hermeneutics. 

Understanding communication is essential. We don’t even need to act consciously to communicate; it just happens. Our genes carry information across generations. Our bodies automatically communicate our state of health and warn us of problems, even before a newborn’s first cry. 

It may take time before we learn to speak, although we express ourselves in many ways. Throughout history, we have developed more than 7000 languages. These are continuously changing, fading and growing. Today, it's estimated that half of the population speaks two languages and almost 20% are multilingual. 

In the last century, hundreds of new written languages were created to communicate with computers. This has become a core element of our lives. We not only interact with machines, but we also develop them to communicate with one another, and even to understand us in our own languages, just as tools like ChatGPT now do. 

Communication is more than words. We share meaning through art, gesture, silence, and rhythm. A pause between sentences creates clarity, just as white space on a screen helps readers process information. Although many forms of communication have their intent, they also have their limits. For example, through Tango, we will not explain the "Analysis of geoinformatics methods of landscape structure research in Great Plain sample areas", but we can express romantic stories or deep emotions. Therefore, we develop those ways of expression that suit our character, interests and profession. 

Conversations between each other are evolving as well. Phones brought emojis and new styles of interaction. Emails became the digital letters of our time. Social media allows instant mass communication, something unimaginable to people in earlier centuries. 

In every context, certain rules emerge to support comprehension. On websites, menus are often represented with a “hamburger” icon of three lines, a search with a magnifying glass, and sections with simple words like “about” or “contact.” In face-to-face conversation, those symbols would make no sense, yet in a digital context, they feel natural. 

Successful communication depends on understanding the recipient and choosing the right form to carry meaning. In this way, the essence of Hermes, navigating between worlds, translating messages, and bridging understanding, lives on in every form of expression, from ancient storytelling to modern technology. 

Whether through text, an application, a website, software, or any other medium, successful communication requires understanding the recipient and choosing the most effective form. The essence of this figure, navigating between worlds, translating meaning, and facilitating understanding, radiates through in everything from human expression to modern technology, inspiring new possibilities. 

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