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Noise in the Channel
Up to this point, we have discussed information itself as a concept. But how are informational signals sent and received? How does information get from one context to another? One of information theory's most enduring concepts is the model of signal transmission developed by Warren Weaver and Claude Shannon. Signal transmission looks at the path of a signal as it departs from its origin and arrives at its target.
Each element of the model represents a different stage of the process by which a signal is transmitted and received. For example, if a signal is a spoken word, the source is the mind of the speaker, which activates the vocal cords, a signal which is carried by airwaves, received by the ears of the listener, and interpreted in the mind. If we look at the circumstance of a driver regarding a stoplight, the signal is a visual signal. The timing mechanism of the stoplight is the source, which activates a light bulb, a signal that travels as light to the driver's eye, where is it is interpreted by the mind. As information theory systems, games are rife with instances of signal transmission and reception. Players communicate with each other through speech, written words, and gesture. They also communicate with the system of the game itself. During a turn in Monopoly, players roll the dice and receive the visual signal of the black dots on the die cubes, interpreting it as a numerical value. Signals manifest as speech between players, as written text on cards, and even as visual information: players look at the board in order to see their positions relative to properties, houses, hotels, and each other. However, signal transmission is hardly ever clean and pure. The one element in Shannon and Weaver's model not yet mentioned, noise, addresses this important aspect of communication. Noise is interference in the signal that enters into a channel of transmission. In affecting the transmission process, noise affects the amount of information in a message. How does noise affect information? Information is, we must steadily remember, a measure of one's freedom of choice in selecting a message.The greater this freedom of choice, and hence the greater the information, the greater is the uncertainty that the message actually selected is some particular one. Thus greater freedom of choice, greater uncertainty, greater information go hand in hand. If noise is introduced, then the received message contains certain distortions, certain errors, certain extraneous material, that would certainly lead one to say that the received message exhibits, because of the effects of the noise, an increased uncertainty.[9]
Noise, as Weaver points out, increases the amount of information and uncertainty in a message. In the example of a vocal signal, strong wind or loud traffic could interfere with the transmission of the message from sender to receiver through the introduction of audio noise. With the driver and stoplight example, noise might take the form of darkness, fog, or dirt on the windshield of the driver's car. In all of these examples, noise increases the uncertainty of the signal, and therefore the amount of information it contains. We can also understand the phenomenon of noise another way. Noise is directly related to the amount of freedom that the sender has in choosing a signal. Classical information theory, as an engineering discipline, was generally concerned with sending and receiving messages of the greatest possible clarity. Noise in the channel was something to be minimized, so that people could have clear telephone conversations and watch their televisions free of static and snow. If games are framed as a system of information, however, noise is not necessarily a negative element. Sometimes entire games are premised on the notion of putting noise into a channel of communication. Take the informal play activity of Telephone, in which people whisper a message around a circle. The point of the activity and the pleasure for the participants comes from the noise in the system. The original message receives noise as it passes from person to person, transforming the message a little bit each time. By the time the message reaches the last person, the noise has impacted the identity of the original signal. In most cases, the signal that emerges from the long chain of whisperers undergoes a radical transformation—and that is exactly the fun of the game.
Similarly, Charades is based on the transmission of signals from one form to another. At the start of the game, players write the titles of books, movies, and television shows and put them into a hat. Then one player takes that written signal and transforms it into a set of improvised gestures, attempting to convey the information back to teammates, while narrowing the uncertainty of the answer through silent encouragement and discouragement as teammates guess. Ultimately, the title is transformed from written word into gesture and then back into spoken language, as the signal returns full circle.
In Telephone, pleasure emerges from the addition of noise. In Charades, the players fight against the noise inherent in the structure of the game, as they attempt to overcome communication hurdles and complete the circuit of transmission. The pantomime gestures of Charades introduce noise into the system through their inherent ambiguity. The many competing and contradictory guesses contribute noise as well. Sometimes the guessing team misinterprets a clue and gets off track, introducing yet more noise. With all of the opportunities for noise, it is a wonder that signals are transmitted at all! But it is this struggle against noise and uncertainty that makes Charades fun to play. The instant that the correct answer rings out—the signal coming full circuit, the noise and uncertainty finally over-come—is a deeply satisfying moment of play.
The phenomenon of noise as a desirable component of a game system is a function of the lusory attitude, the state of mind that players take on in order to enter the magic circle and play a game, the shared attitude that accepts the paradoxically "inefficient" means for achieving the goals of a game. The fact that Charades' players enjoy the difficulty of indirect communication, rather than just speaking the correct answer out loud and saving themselves the trouble of guessing, is a great example of how the lusory attitude manifests in the experience of play. [9]Shannon and Weaver, Mathematical Theory of Communication ,p. 19.
