ABSTRACT
The subject of “communications” has always fascinated me. Being brought up in a family where three languages were often used, I soon learnt the mystery of uttered words that were not meant to be understood, while the tone of voice employed would at times lead one to guesses that were difficult to confirm or to ignore. Still a child, I found that the choice of a piece of music to be played on an instrument or on a recording was a strong pointer to the mood of the person involved. Next came the discovery that tics involved more than the mechanics of body parts. But the most precious finding was in a humorist’s dictum that “communication is what the other hears”. This wise and most perceptive joke highlighted the difficulty that affects so many of our social interactions: how can we be certain that our words were correctly understood? How can we be sure that we have truly understood what someone wanted to convey to us?
