By Patrice McCoy


In the herd is quite an ambiguous phrase. It could refer to the dynamics of animals that live in groups. Biologists, zoologists and agriculturalists would certainly be well employed in studying this topic. Human beings themselves display many characteristics of herd behavior and poets are justified in imagining the reality of it. However, it is also pertinent to note that the name of a popular US radio show is 'The Herd with Colin Cowherd'.

Not many years ago portable radios were new technological inventions that were snapped up by buyers who were as eager then as buyers are now to catch the latest smart phone to come on the market. It was no longer necessary to huddle around a massive chest in the living room listening to the crackling voice of a war time leader. Instead, one could take a handy cassette with many buttons out into a workshop or even depart on a fishing trip together with a radio that could keep them in touch with the international community.

Now once shining and new portable radios are gathering dust in garden sheds or attics. In the 1980s the word podcast was unknown. In 2012 the word is quite widely understood to mean oral messages sent out over the Internet. This could be a way for radio presenters to survive by extending their reach through smart phones and similar new applications.

Gadgets are only one of a set of elements in the communication process, They are the channels through which senders send messages to receivers. The communication process needs several elements all of which are subject to interference. The hiker in Pakistan listening to a cricket match commentary from London does not wish to be distracted by images because his eyes could be occupied in keeping an eye on his immediate environment.

Though communication in the Information Age is complex and effective there is evidence to suggest that Stone Age people also had deep insights into animal communication systems. This was used in hunting activities and in killing animals whereas the efforts of contemporary scientists and psychologists are directed to preserving the few wild animals that have managed to survive.

The extremely different intentions would both be well served by a more detailed knowledge of behavioral traits. It is now well known that elephants can communicate over very wide distances by means of particular sounds that symbolize notions and stimulate particular responses. Though intercontinental communication may be unknown to elephant communities that is apparently not the case with whales which are thought to have a system not entirely dissimilar to the Internet. Perhaps it may be more like radio communication since no writing is involved.

It would appear that communication is a fundamental element in the welfare of all social groups. The advent of cell phones and similar gadgetry has enabled human beings to create artificial communication systems that are at least as good as those of elephants and whales, and probably much better.

Instinctive behavior is apparently not learned but it is known. Quite how a weaver bird or an ant solves problems as it goes about hazardous tasks as an individual has not really been explained satisfactorily. Perhaps the answer lies in the deep pull that even the most inveterate loners have to be in the herd.




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