The Snorlax Eye

“the visual pokedex”

wi:k θri: : semɪ'ɒtɪks rɪ'vɪsɪtɪd*

Sunday, August 21, 2011 || 12:02 AM

Question 2: What does "coded" meaning mean?

To those unfamiliar with IPA symbols, the title of this entry may seem like it is from a distant language. However, if you flip through the dictionary, you will find that the symbols I have used above has been there ever since. IPA symbols are used to represent phonemic sounds - how one unit of a word sounds. For example, the 'a' sound in 'bat' is represented with the symbol; /æ/.

My choice to use IPA symbols for the title may seem irrelevant, but I thought it would be interesting to use them as one of the prominent figures in semiotics is a linguist, Ferdinand de Sausseure, who introduced the concept of language being arbitrary (Leong Ping, Deterding & Low, 2006, p. 59). Sauesseure had referred to words as 'signs', and semiotics is that - interpreting meanings from signs (Griffin, 2009, p.323). From one aspect, semiotics is like an academic venture into the world of metaphors.

In order to establish the meaning of a 'code' in semiotics, one would have to know that signs are divided into two components; the "signifier", the literal 'form' of the sign, and the "signified", the idea or the concept that is being represented by the sign (Chandler, 1994). When these two concepts are established, that is where "codes" come in. According to Leeds-Hurwitz (1993, p. 51), a set of signs is referred to 'codes; – the referred “set” being a combination of a signifier and the signified. In other words, what links a signifier to a signified are 'codes'. According to Irvine (2004), codes are defined as a “framework, a learned a shared conceptual connection at work in all uses of signs (language, visual)”.

With the basic concepts of semiotics structured in the above paragraph, "coded meanings" can therefore be understood to refer to signs which draws on codes understood and agreed on by the community. When an object has a coded meaning, it simply means that the object can have no relation to what it literally looks like, but can be interpreted as something else because of the meanings attached to it, as defined by the community. Exemplifying the above explanation could create a better understanding of "coded" meanings. For instance, without having to venture outside the virtual realm, internet slang;

cr: fuckyeahkpopmacros.tumblr

"BRB" in the above picture is an example of a "coded" meaning. If the meaning was not encoded to have a specific meaning, it can be interpreted as a sound or perhaps and acronym for 'Bunny Rubs Belly' and other interpretations. However, the acronym "BRB" is established by the internet community to mean "Be Right Back", thus making it a "coded" meaning. When someone says "BRB" in an online chat, it is understood by the receiver that the message being conveyed is "be right back".

'B', 'R' & 'B' = signs
'be right back' = signified

References:

Chandler, D. (1994) Semiotics for beginners. Retrieved from http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem02.html on 21st August, 2011.

Griffin, E. (2009). A first look at communication theory (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Irvine, M. (2004). Media theory and semiotics: Key terms and concepts. Retrieved from http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/theory/Theory-KeyTerms.html on 22nd August, 2011.

Leeds-Hurwitz, W. (1993). Semiotics and communication: Signs, codes, cultures. New Jersey, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=Lbu8qIgiJNwC&lpg=PA51&pg=PR4#v=onepage&q&f=false on 21st August, 2011.

Leong Ping, A., Deterding, D., & Low, E. L. (2006). An introduction to linguistics. Singapore: McGraw Hill.

* Week Three: Semiotics Revisited

Week 2: Seeing and Perception

Friday, August 12, 2011 || 1:00 AM

Question 1: What is perception and why is it different from seeing?

The general understanding of "perception" and "seeing" relatively ties down to one common word; views. The idiom "more than meets the eyes" is an example where the differences between these two concepts are implied. In order to disect the differences between 'perception' and 'seeing', we must understand where the two diverge, in terms of meanings.

For starters, Barry (2005) describes 'perception' as the process where “data are reduced and compressed, and what was once a retinal image becomes … representative map of visual reality. In this way, light is transformed into meaning built from separate, specific functions in the brain.” (p. 51). In other words, this basically means our interpretation of what we see is not only limited to one particular object, rather we pick up on the objects surrounding it and draw from our previous knowledge or memory. To further simplify this ideology, it basically draws down to; our perception is influenced by what we already know (Berger, Blomberg, Fox, Dibb & Hollis, 1977). It is just a matter of our brains linking things together like puzzles to create a complete picture.

Think of this as how our brains work and piece information together.
cr: managerzen-progetti.it

Whereas 'seeing' is a little different from 'perception' as it deals with a more scientific approach. If I were to categorize them, 'seeing' would be something literal, whereas 'perception' takes on a more figurative or metaphorical aspect of viewing things. The “light” referred to in the previous paragraph is basically a product from 'seeing'. 'Seeing' according to Barry (2002, p. 91) “begins with light patterns reflected on the eye's retina”. That reflection of light hence produces the images we see in our brains. Our process of seeing is similar to how projectors work. It is also worth noting that we see by choice (Berger, Blomberg, Fox, Dibb & Hollis, 1977).

Therefore, to explain how 'perception' and 'seeing' are different; 'seeing' is like the first stage of viewing things. It is the light exuded from an object and the reflection of those lights into your retina, hence producing an image in your brain. The process of 'perception' is like the second level of viewing things; you use information you have previously obtained to impose meaning on a something.

Just to test these out, what you see or what you perceive?

cr: img.dailymail.co.uk

cr: aerospaceguide.net

References:

Barry, A. M. (2002). Perception and visual communication theory. Journal of Visual Literacy, 22(1), 91-106. Retrieved from http://www.ohio.edu/visualliteracy/JVL_ISSUE_ARCHIVES/JVL22%281%29/JVL22%281%29_pp.91-106.pdf on 12^th August, 2011.

Barry, A. M. (2005). Perception Theory. In K. Smith, S. Moriarty, G. Barbatsis & K. Kenney (Eds.), Handbook of visual communication: Theory, methods and media (pp. 45-62). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=AF7dqHPy-60C&lpg=PA7&dq=perception%20visual%20communication&pg=PA51#v=onepage&q=perception%20visual%20communication&f=false on 11^th August, 2011.

Berger, J., Blomberg, S., Fox, C., Dibb, M., & Hollis, R. (1977). Ways of seeing. London: Penguin Books.