Hello,

Could it be that I chose this image because it reminded me (oddly) of a Sunflower, and these days in Vancouver it feels eerily as though our summer may be fading into fall? What I really enjoyed about this image is the way it depicts the idea that at the centre of our communication using words and text, there is an idea that is neither.  It seems that the effort of communication has always been to touch on ideas that, in moving from the mind to the world, must undergo a transition that renders the idea into a communicable form.  Somewhere deep in our heads, there is activity that sits beneath our words, the little nugget that words attempt to convey.  Anyways…

I’m fascinated by communication, and specifically written forms.  I am working on the development of an online assessment tool which aims to assess basic literacy and numeracy skills, and we’re working on the bones of a problem solving version as well.  Our study of literacy is based on surveys that have been done around the world to measure adult literacy skills, and the science (if it can be called a science it would be in the soft, brie-like sciences) is very fascinating.

I’m really looking forward to this class, and getting to know all of you and your interests in written language.

Cheers

Ben