Context in communications

The Jordanian representation of prices seems to be highly contextual. The following all meant 1 Dinar:

JD 1000 (on a sign at the entry to a historical site)
JD 1,00 (on a book in a shop)
JD 1 (on a menu at a cafe)

I am also reminded of the inconsistent use of the comma in numerals in France. 10,000 can be the same as 10.000, and 10,00 can be different from 10.00; all seemingly subject to context. This is particularly interesting considering that France was the founding nation of the metric system – the Système International d'unités (or S I Units)used in most countries today.

It is interesting to note how much communications is subject to context. Or perhaps ALL communications are!

Or perhaps humans are not really made for consistency. And that it goes against our nature to discipline ourselves to be consistent. Which makes the track record of the many error-intolerant professions like air traffic control and surgery all that much more impressive.

Cite
	Title:	Context in communications
	Author:	Liew, Zern
	Blog Title:	Thoughts at the intersection of Design, Business, Technology, and Applied Psychology
	Date:	16 January 2011
	URL:	https://eicolab.com.au/2011/context-in-communications.html