Re-design plans

a boy can dream

Nonverbal everything (reddit)

What is the most powerful/memorable example of nonverbal storytelling you've experienced in a game? (self.Games)

Then there are the nonverbal cutscenes, like the introductory one, which still feels like the best intro to any game I've played. When an author can say a lot while saying nothing, I immediately love them.

nonverbal cutscenes, nonverbal storytelling

It's a perfectly executed nonverbal twist. The way the second half perfectly mirrors the first (and the way that mirroring fits into the central theme of time) and the knight-and-princess imagery convey the story's central revelation without a word.

nonverbal twist

The interesting thing about Halo 4 is that Chief is such an incredibly hard character to get emotion through. He can't really cry, he can't scream in rage, he can only feel. These emotions are expertly conveyed in my opinion through nonverbal gestures. A slight tilt of his head can get a very heavy message across. This was exemplified in no better part than when Cortana dies and her hardlight shield began to collapse.[1] The camera shaking, the rocks falling, and the heart-string tugging music were all perfectly combined with Chief's mannerism: he did not move. He did not speak. As a sort of collapse took place around him, he stood still and silent at the center of it. It put tears in my eyes.

nonverbal gestures - "to get emotion through"; mannerism; "It put tears in my eyes" - evocative function

What's your nonverbal "I'm NOT interested" signal? (self.OkCupid)

My nonverbal signal is arranging buffalo wings into words that describe my feelings. (versusgorilla)

The emotive function of language is confused with nonverbal signals because the author identifies verbal with oral.

Isn't nonverberal, per se. but it's a lot of filler words. "mhmm" "yeah" that kind of thing. Not really initiating anything, just rolling with it. If I say I'm tired and have an early morning, I'm almost always not interested. Thankfully this line usually works because I use at like 9PM. The nonverbal ones are picking at my food/drink/cup. Playing with my cell, hair, shirt buttons, jewelry, hairband, or whatever and not making eye contact. (gigglesmcbug)

nonverberal - oh my god, yes! nonverberal semitoics! Filler words concerns the phatic function of language. Picking at or playing with objcts and self is partly instrumental, adaptive, automanipulative, intrinsic, introverted and autocommunicative or intracommunicative. The nonverbal signal for "no" to a flirtatious advance involves heavy self-involving or object-involving action as a denial signal to other-involving inter-actions.

I'm a high-functioning, polymathic, almost totally nonverbal autistic savant with a genius IQ, who was accused by the school system of mental retardation because of my autistic behaviors even though I could read Moby Dick at the age of six. AMA :) [xpost from r/casualiama] (self.AMA)

Despite these gifts, I have severe difficulties navigating life because of my autism and am effectively a celibate recluse dependent on family members for support. About 90% of my communication with the outside world is through writing - I am almost totally nonverbal with everyone outside of my immediate first-degree family members. I have great difficulty making eye contact even with them. I do not exhibit normal body language and cannot interpret it in others. (danceswithronin)

autistic behaviors - the original meaning of "autistic" is self-involved, from the greek auto, "self". Often people dealing with autistic children and write books about it aren't scientists, don't cite and use putty terminology - "Accounts of meaning usually throw a handful of putty at the target of sign phenomena, while a technical semiotic must provide us with words which are sharpened arrows." (Morris 1949: 19) But then again I haven't read much from that section, so I don't know how correct my assumptions are. It does seem like an interesting field, one which Jurgen Ruesch probably helped establish with his papers on the nonverbal difficulties of psychiatric patients and what was then called an "immature personality". These are the characteristics of autism or "immature personality" in Ruesch as well. The has whole tables of symptoms for anxiety, schizophrenia, autism and other communication disturbances in his The Semiotic Approaches to Human Relations (1971). I, too, communicate mainly through writing. I read and write a lot.

It's difficult for me to advise without knowing a bit more about her individual situation, since my own is pretty damned unique. There are a lot of nonverbal autists walking around, but not a lot of savants. So while on the outside our behaviors might appear very similar, I might not share that much in common mentally with a low-functioning autist who is nonverbal, because our intellectual and emotional quotients might be totally different. Does that make sense? (danceswithronin)

As far as I know everyone's intellectual and emotional quotients are different in some measure. But it does make sense - this is why modern talk about autism emphasizes that there's an autistic spectrum.

If she's able to display her intelligence in other ways - if it's not affecting her ability to do schoolwork, for example - I probably wouldn't worry about it too much if I was her parents. The fact that people outside of her first-degree relatives can recognize her high intelligence means that she's probably able to communicate effectively enough to learn how to navigate the issue herself. Especially if she is nonverbal simply because she doesn't want to talk, and not because she's afraid to. (danceswithronin)

Practically these are the same, because no talking is taking place. In our society there is a norm of civil talking, a certain degree of phatic communication and communian necessary for people to feel at ease and comfortable around each other.

You'd be surprised how many people would talk around me like I wasn't there when I was a kid because I was nonverbal. It's like they'd forget I was a human, not a really big cat or a piece of breathing furniture that crept around and hid under other pieces of furniture. (danceswithronin)

That is, when a nonverbal person is treated like a nonperson.

I didn't interact much with other kids, so I wasn't bullied except by one girl in middle school - it's hard to bully someone who is nonverbal and does not respond in a satisfying way to taunting [...]

This is how I got away from being beat up by Russian youngsters in Tallinn on 9th of May this year. I didn't respond is a satisfying way when the aggressive one shoved his chest-ribbons in my face. I was too tired and too passive, I didn't get up but just pulled away confusedly. It ended with a conversation of gestures (he asked my name and then used it to address me in Russian and said that I'm an idiot and fascist) instead of a conversation of attitudes - e.g. Mead's example of two barking dogs making each other angrier and angrier to the point of physical contact and offence. "A conversation of attitude" was Mead's term for emotional communication.

But even with my family, I am nonverbal a large part of the time, and the short answer of that is: I'm thinkin', man. Don't bother me. The majority of the conversations that people hold on mundane topics hold absolutely no interest for me at all. It's like someone is eating a four-course meal in a five-star restaurant, and you walking up to their table and trying to shove a Happy Meal in their face and trying to force them to eat it, then being insulted when they're like, "WTF are you doing?" (danceswithronin)

There must be a list of scientists and other thinkers who don't enjoy small talk.

Being mostly nonverbal, I would imagine it would be very hard to make friends (without even considering the other aspects of autism). You mentioned that you had a roommate in college you were close with. Did you have any other close friendships? What is your relationship like with people who are not easily able to verbalize with? Do you find it easier to make friends who also have autism or another mental handicap? (KaylaAnne)

Caldwell, Pheobe and Jane Horwood 2007. From Isolation to Intimacy: Making Friends without Words. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. This is the only book on this specific subject that I've read.

Q: How is it that you are practically "nonverbal," but can write so eloquently? (Misterlulz)
A: Because I've been using writing as a substitute for speaking since I was a little kid. And I'm hyperlexic, so I've been reading since I was two years old. (danceswithronin)

Perfect. Homo qwertycus.

Study finds why children are bullied: apparently it's due to their inability to pick up on and respond to nonverbal cues. Funny, I thought it was because bullies are assholes.

Also, if you're the parent of a victimised child, this tells you how best to help your child to not be victimised - help them understand nonverbal social cues.
If you're a parent of a bully, you probably don't give a damn. (Korvar)

How well is that doing, I wonder? Teaching nonverbal social clues with playing cards and stuff...

Most bullies will deflect reason and replace it with mockery. Replace his face with his own blood and the bully will learn his lesson.

And guess what? Mockery is a social skill that heavily exploits nonverbal cues, and the best response to mockery is more mockery, in fact it helps build verbal skills. (anon/deleted)

This is true. A lot of verbal communication depends on nonverbal communication. Verbal and nonverbal sign systems are interdependent.

Seriously, for a second I thought this was an article on why people bully, not why people are targeted for bullying. I have always been sensitive to nonverbal cues and handling social situations with delicacy, but this didn't prevent me from getting bullied. I think it's actually the bullying itself that creates a kind of social dent in the victim, after the fact. (pickledpepper)

With delicacy and grace...?

Lie to Me- a short lived yet clever show that depicts the life of Cal Lightman who looks at nonverbal communication to solve crimes. Highly recommend! (movies.netflix.com)

Don't take the things you see in this series as a fact. They had some professorlist on lying cues help them with the show, and then chose not to follow most of the things he told them. I believe the guy wrote a post with the things that are wrong in the show. (zumikkel)

Oh wow. I did not know that.

His name is Paul Ekman. From what I remember on his blog (or whatever it was) he actually enjoyed the show, but he understood that there would be some mistakes due to the fact that the screenwriters are not psychologists. So he made it clear what was truth and what was a mistake or outright nonsense.
Body language is a tough thing to study, so even Dr. Ekman's theories are not completely trustworthy as of yet. It was a very interesting show, though. (TheAtomicMango)

Now I know more of what to look forward to when I get to Paul Ekman's corpus.

"some guy stares at people and acts like a pompous jerk, then divines the show's ending based off of clues that are arbitrary and invisible to the viewer, making everything else that has happened in the episode superfluous."

That's a concise synopsis of the show. The idea behind the study of nonverbal communication is to find the cues that aren't arbitrary and visible to the educated viewer.

Half-Blood Prince Irony (self.harrypotter)

I'm not sure if someone already saw this, but I'll share anyway.
"Harry rather doubted he would be able to bring off this particular spell; he was still having difficulty with nonverbal spells, something Snape had been quick to comment on in every D.A.D.A class. On the other hand, the Prince had proved a much more effective teacher than Snape so far."

Name related jokes are of course a much more widely known trope than nonverbal spell which only has a page on Harry Potter Wiki.

What differentiates verbal and nonverbal thought? (self.askscience)

In cognitive science, there is a debate over a dual-process theory of mind and thought. It distinguishes between system one and system two.
System one: fast, intuitive, unconscious thought that is tied in with the emotions. This is the heuristics & biases kind of stuff, and also gut feelings.
System two: slow, analytic, conscious reasoning. This is the deliberate application of logic.
The verbal/non-verbal distinction could be understood in terms of this dual-process model. Non-verbal thoughts are the long-evolved intuitive processes, the results of mental rules-of-thumb that are in system one. Verbal thoughts are those which we can keep in our phonological loop - which means conscious access and the ability to state the thoughts, and those are characteristic of rational system two processes.
For more readings on this, you can look up Judgement Under Uncertainty, Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart, or for a book directed at the lay public, The Robot's Rebellion. (RobMagus)

Cf. digital and analogic; discrete and continuous; discursive and representational; heterogeneous sign systems, dual coding, untranslatability, functional brain asymmetry, intercerebral translation.

Verbal thought involves your phonological loop and speech centers (we've identified some regions and their roles in speech processing, but there is still much that we do not know), nonverbal thought is basically all the other thoughts that you're consciously aware of. The phonological loop is at the center of it. It's the part of the working memory system that lets you keep all the words of your inner monologue in your head (as in, you don't forget them immediately after thinking them) and allows you to repeat stuff to yourself. (tehbored)

Nonverbal thought is thought that is not verbal. Nonverbal communication is communication that isn't verbal. Contrived terms cause problems for the theoretician.

I often solve problems in programming non-verbally. I don't really even know how to describe what it feels like, but ideas and concepts just sort of... snap together, and nary a mental word is spoken. (jrandom)

Programming is writing in formal language (programming language, mathematics as a formal language) and thus not nonverbal. The thought process that goes along with choosing words or phrases is a verbal process, though it may feel nonverbal just like repeating a single word repeatedly causes it to lose meaning and become a mere complex of sounds. Ultimately, there is language only insofar as there are humans who use it as language. The border between verbal and nonverbal speres is imaginary, it is the treshold between one easily recognizable sign system and everything else that is not it(self).

I will probably get downvoted for this, but I felt like I should contribute something:
I don't know a hell of a lot about the subject, but I do know that nonverbal reading is how people can speed-read. If you practice, you can get to the point where you can just look at words and understand them without saying them in your head. This is the same thing as nonverbal thinking. I can think a hell of a lot faster if I don't think of every single word. It's almost like the concept comes to me, and then I have to stop myself from saying it in my head because I already know what it is. To make an analogy, it's like receiving a zip file on your computer and being able to open the files within it without unzipping the zip. It's just much faster when you don't think of every single word, but of the sentence as a whole. (noxumida)

I've tried speedreading. I speedread several speedreading books. I don't remember much about their content. But then I've also tried re-writing a complete article word-for-word and responding in written form to every sentence, reformulating the point in more familiar language. That was me reading Goffman's "On Face-Work" on 31. October 2012. I think about the contents of that piece of writing of often. // Speedreading is not nonverbal reading. It involves reading linguistic signs, thus it is lingual, or verbal.

It's possible to switch your verbal thinking off using the following trick: talk non stop gibberish non stop for 20-25 minutes. Don't think what you say just spit out syllables in non stop flow. After you stop, your verbal thinking is off for some time. I don't know what is the exact mechanism but it works (confusing speech center?). You can enjoy maybe 5 minutes of inner silence. You can still do stuff and even speak and read but you don't' have verbal toughs. (anon/deleted)

Oh wow. I have to remember this and try it, of course. It belongs to the same category of exercises as the eye trick when you cover one of your eyes and keep the other open for 20 minutes on a sunny day (you will see more colors and brightness in the closed eye for a few minutes).

Completely anecdotal here (but ending with a reference!)
Some time ago I spent some time with meditation exercises. One meditation suggestion I was given was to "try to consciously visualize something without naming it." For example, it's easy to close your eyes and picture a tree, and see it in your mind. It's hard to do so and observe it without naming it (try to expunge "tree" and you end up with "leaf", "branch" etc.) But from practical experience it was possible: after long hours of trying, I was able to achieve a few moments where I was consciously observe the tree without naming it or thinking any words for it.
It was (for those few moments before the words came back) a very very odd experience and the feeling was enlightening (small-e enlightening) in terms of what was happening in the background of my brain. Naturally I don't have words to really describe it, but I can see how maintaining that state and achieving it gives a neurological angle to big-E Enlightenment.
The book Zen and the Brain is a good read on some of these broad ideas (written by a neurologist who's also a long-time meditation practitioner, so includes personal meditation experience and a healthy does of the neurology behind it). (squidfood)

Another neat exercise. It sounds like self-control of semiosis.

What differentiates verbal and nonverbal thought?

Words. (trying_to_be_funny)

It's a good try, but language is more than words, it involves speech-sounds, sound-images, concepts, metaconcepts, nonverbal lexical affiliates, etc. The category of word or lexeme as a defining or dominant feature of language is contested, because there are languages without words (whistle language, clicking language, (manual gesture) sign language, etc.).

TIFU by yelling walk (self.tifu)

So in high school I was a lifeguard at a local outside pool club during the summer. I worked long hours between 4-6 days a week and would always leave mentally exhausted because we had a crappy management where you would be staring at the pool in one spot for hours at a time. (In training you learn that you're supposed to switch around every 15-30 minutes just to stay refreshed and aware). Anyway, one particularly long shift some kids are literally just being the worst. Breaking all the rules, running around, horseplay, all the crap you need to tell them to stop doing. As I leave, I get a call from my mom telling me to go to grocery store and pick up a few things. So I decide to just go directly from work to the store in my lifeguard attire. As I'm walking down the produce isle looking at lettuce, I see a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye and turn to see a kid full on running down the isle. My brain suddenly derps and goes back into lifeguard mode and I yell "WALK!!!" in the most commanding, loud voice. The kid stops like a deer in headlights and looks terrified which is pretty much what I looked like after I realized what I did. Then I look over and find the mom absolutely glaring at me exuding the most angry nonverbals I've ever seen. I'm standing there red-faced and dumbfounded and the only thing I could think to say was "I'm a lifeguard". I then put my head down and finished shopping as quickly as possible. (whowatawhat4)

Yelling a command in a loud voice is the real life equivalent of an imperative sign-function. All the other features of the communication model is also present.

The eight-year-old boy was autistic and nonverbal, and from his perspective the largest manhunt in state history probably looked like something else: the ultimate game of hide-and-seek. (outsideonline.com)

A neurological condition present from early childhood, autism is characterized by difficulty communicating and forming relationships, as well as cognitive abnormalities. The condition is measured on a spectrum, from high functioning to low functioning, from those with Asperger’s syndrome—-associated with above-average intellectual ability, impaired social skills, and restrictive, repetitive patterns of interest and activity—to the 40 percent who, like Robert, are nonverbal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a staggering increase in the number of autistic children in recent years. In 2008, 1 out of every 178 children had some form of autism. By early 2012, that number had risen to 1 in 88. Little is known about the sudden upsurge of cases, but researchers at the National Institutes of Health believe that a genetic predisposition to the disorder may be exacerbated by an unknown environmental component. The condition affects five times as many boys (1 in 54) as girls (1 in 252) (Dean King 2012. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. Outside Magazine, August 2012.)

An informative passage about autism.

Nonverbal communication and the fifth amendment.Question to LEOs (self.ProtectAndServe)

What types of nonverbal communication can be used as evidence in a criminal court? For instance, if an arrested suspect doesn’t say anything, but starts crying hysterically when asked whether he/she did the crime, can that be considered an admission of guilt? Nonverbal communication transmits far more information than verbal, yet legal precedent mostly focuses on the verbal. We understand it right away, but how is it brought up in court? We humans in real life always trust the nonverbal (if I come up to you and say “Hi officer” yet I am hunched over and have one hand behind my back - you trust my nonverbal message over the verbal). Or, in another instance, if someone from an Asian culture diverts their eyes, a Western cop may think this is being evasive and dishonest, while that person may in fact be showing respect to authority by not making direct eye contact. How do you separate the truth from the ambiguity? (tbsla13)

This guy seems to suggest that nonverbal communication should be considered as evidence in court of law. This is dangerous, because it comes with a naive understanding about the concept of information (the statement about amount is unsubstantiated and unverifiable). Though it is interesting that as an example the policeman describes a civilian clearly holding something heavy (like a gun or a bat) behind his back.

It is all admissible in court, but ultimately up to the jury to determine its relevance. Any good defense attorney will tear testimony about non-verbal communication to shreds. However, it has become common to play video of interviews for the jury so that they can see the body language and tone of the suspect before they are coached and cleaned up for court.
Also, if someone invokes their Miranda, and they then voluntarily communicate with you, it's admissible. The only problem would be overcoming the argument by the defense attorney that you solicited the information in some way. It'd be up to the prosecution to show that the defendant wasn't reacting to something you did (nonverbal communication by the police counts as "questioning" too). (Sheeplez)

In other words, observations of bodily behaviour are not yet trustworthy and reliable enough to be good evidence.

I think you would be able use use non-verbal communication as evidence if you wanted to, but you wouldn't be able to rely on it or using something like crying as an admission of guilt. The reason being that crying could be done for many reasons like remorse for committing the crime, overwhelmed that they now realize they are being accused of a crime (even if they didn't commit it), or even being late to some place they were going to and letting people down. With your other example, the person hunched over and hand behind their back, you would only use that in court to justify why you searched/arrested that person and not as evidence for conviction.
Non-verbal communication is a tricky thing to navigate and really only serves the officer in trying to predict what will happen or what this person might be thinking. It means basically nothing to judges/juries because it could be so varied. The only non-verbal communication I think is the most clear is the subject actually becoming assaultive. (Talvex)

Polysemy of bodily behaviour. "Assaultive" is a better word than "offencive".

If someone invoked the fifth but still cried, that would be admissible? (tbsla13)

Yes. They have the right to remain silent and they have the right to remain stone faced and not give up any non verbal communication. They are free to waive those rights. (anon/deleted)

So how strong a statement is "you cannot not communicate"?

This is why the Facial Action Coding System, or FACS, is growing in popularity for certain federal agencies. "Oh, you turned your lip in a certain way and looked to the upper left? You're lying." (fbifriday)

Similar accusations have been thrown against proponents of nonverbal communication before. E.g. Cosmopolitan supposedly contains lists of cues that give you out, you lying sack of sh1t!

How Men's Nonverbal Cues Increase Women’s Sexual Attractiveness (psychologytoday.com)

I've said this before, I'll say it again... psychologytoday is not usually regarded as a credible source in the field, its usually pop psychology bullshit taken out of context. (eatmylabia c5dv9t4)

That goes for much of body language discourse.

The observer enters into every observation. (aureality c5duijr)

Quantum physics, mathematical communication theory, information theory, meta-channel, cryptanalysis.

Just ask her!" Is Reddit's dating advice too simplistic? Meta (self.AskMen)

The people who are capable of actually reading the signs and nonverbal communications are not the type of people generally asking for advice. (akfekbranford)

Tuleb mõista mitte mõistatada.

"...look for the signs and the nonverbal communication before they ask?" They'll dwell on that stage way too long. Analysis paralysis. These guys need a nudge. They need to be assertive.

Analüüsiparalüüs. I commonly refer to the ambiguous Edward Sapir reference about languaging being so automatic because it is supposed to be like that; if you make something unconscious intentionally conscious then that will consume you from doing anything else. It will become a disturbance.

There's no reason to look for signs or nonverbal communication because the best way to get an answer is to communicate. Teaching people how to effectively communicate is the best lesson we could give. Asking a question shouldn't be punishable and if it is, the girl/guy isn't "right". (calikelowna)

But nonverbal communication is part of communication and communication occurs only through signs.

nonverbal acting tips? (self.acting)

My friend got called back with them (he got blued). I'll see if he has any advice and get back here. But I know those characters are based on curiosity and play, like one of their main motivations is looking at things and people and figuring out what they are and how they can play with them. [...] He got back with this about the audition:

It was very simple. I think the first thing they had us do was stand in front of the rest of the actors (20 - 30) and just be there and make eye contact with every individual. Not to make something happen, but to only move on when it felt right.
If that went well they had you drum out a basic rhythm.

And then this about the callbacks (which lasted about a week):

Since they take their time with the call backs and you will be working with several different instructors, the main thing I can say is to forget the show and try to show them who you are without speaking. Think of your time there more as a workshop and less as an audition. They really did want you to be natural so that (I imagine) unique behavior would come out.
Be alert, be aware of your surroundings and the people you are auditioning with. The Blue Man is a constantly curious creature and the more you can communicate this with physicality and your eyes without "indicating" it to the audience, the stronger your blue man performance will be.
One of the original blue men was at my audition and told us that his wife fell in love with him as The Blue Man. She saw what he was doing on stage night after night and was truly moved. That should give you an idea of how powerful/honest/available they want you to be as a performer and how seriously they take their craft.

A great group of people, best of luck! (thisisnotarealperson ch58etk)

Modern Gurdjeff kind of stuff?

Nonverbal learning disorder co-morbidity with adhd? (self.ADHD)

Oh wow, TIL I have nonverbal learning disorder.
My solution was switching from public school to online school. Straight F's became all passing grades. Partially because ADHD, partially because I can't learn SHIT from lectures/videos.
One thing I did do though, was write down eeeeeverything in class. None of that "write down the important things" bullshit. I don't even know what the words they're saying mean (I hear the words, I know what they're saying, but the sentences mean nothing to me. It's just sound. This isn't as bad if I'm interacting with someone though) so I can't tell what's important and what's not. Now, the notes will look like shit because writing super fast ain't easy (sumtim wrot lik ths bcus fastr) but THAT'S OK because you can rewrite em later (and this time only use the important parts) to look super pretty! Then you study em, and bam, solution. (RingoTheCraftySquidd cffq1d3)

& BAM solutions

[Star Trek TNG] Counselor Troi being super-helpful (self.FanTheories)

Thing is, we humans don't use intuition, we use nonverbal communication. Posture, facial expressions, intonation, they're all things that can't be 100% controlled by most anybody. We know what people are feeling because of our ability to understand these things. (SvenHudson)

We do use intuition, though. Intuition is nothing but a feeling for relations. We "understond these things" because we intuit - guess, feel or abduce - that given postures, facial expressions and intuitions are common or uncommon, do they signify anything specific or general, if they complement or contest the content of verbal utterances, etc.

Good Nonverbal Safewords? (self.sex)

As to your question though, it somewhat depends on the situation. Some people have the person hold on to something brightly colored, like a red handkerchief or ball, and drop it to the floor. I don't love this idea, but it seems to work for a lot of people. If the sub is lying on his/her back, it can be easy to miss when the drop the object if it doesnt roll / move very far.
I personally like something that makes a loud noise, like a bike horn. Pretty unmistakeable sound, and it's tough to make it go off seriously accidentally. If the sub accidentally drops the object, make sure you give it back, and ideally a "red/yellow/green" check-in. (switchboythrowaway c49t894)

nonverbal safewords - I swear, almost anything can become nonverbal. This here is like a lo-fi communication engineering.