The iceberg metaphor & logos and mythos

The iceberg metaphor for culture show a cruise ship sailing close to the iceberg for a look at this foreign territory. Part of the iceberg is immediately visible; part of it emerges and submerges with the tides, and its foundations go deep beneath the surface.

I would like to talk about the area at the water line and the area below the water line.

The cultural observer has to be more alert says the textbook. It’s so true. We may not judge to fast! It’s important that we learn about the things below the water line. It’s also very important that everybody understands the fact that we can not and may not judge to fast! As a teacher, I will give attention to that.

Below the water line is very interesting. I want to discover this area when I hopefully get accepted to do my internship abroad. It will be an enrichment. But I also think it is a shame that because of those judgments are under-the-waterline, it will not be questioned. I think you need to question that at least once in our life. You do not need to accept everything! Then you’ll become a machine. A machine made by the society. But then again, I’ll hope that I can discover a lot of those habits, understandings and values. This helps me to question ours. This will be a good thing for me.

The East wants to become more logos.

I can understand that but I also have a lot of respect for mythos. I think it’s beautiful that someone can believe that for example trees have eyes. Believing in something is gorgeous and may not disappear!

High and low context

When you look at the high and low context, you realize you need both of them.

You can’t choose between those two contexts.

Why not? Well for example I’ll take the high context. Almost everybody has a facebook-accout. We “need” this because we like to talk about our lives in a familiar way.

You only talk about your live with people you know. Off course, this is relative. There are so many people who have 1000 or more “friends” on facebook. But does this means they are true friends? Off course not. But this is not the right place to discuss that. I only say this to give an example for the high context.

In general, nobody can miss these contact on facebook.

In some way, it’s a sad fact. I suppose that for some people their live turned into facebook. That’s really sad. You need your real life.

That takes me to the low context.

The low context is rule oriented. Using codes and signs is a typical thing for the low context.

We need this too! For example: the Justitiepaleis in Antwerp.

There are rules here for being there. You need to live for those rules.

If you don’t, you will be denied access or you will be asked to leave the building.

This is a good thing. This is a place where just can’t do whatever you want.

There are convicts and victims here. It’s normal that the Justitiepaleis wants to protect both parties.

Off course there are a lot of ‘other’ persons here. For example: a divorce. This also is a jurisdiction of the Justitiepaleis. If everybody does whatever they want to do, it will be a chaos. A chaos that can’t be fixed. There is a lot of disappointment and happiness in this building. Disappointment for the person who ‘lost’ and happiness for the person who ‘won’.

This is a situation that leads into chaos. This has to be prevented. They do that by those rules.

Conclusion: if they don’t have those rules, it will turn into a large chaos and that will give those persons a lot of more problems they already have.

So by this said: you need both contexts!

You can’t live without one of those two contexts.