Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2015 11:32:08 -0700
From: Chaim Gingold
Subject: Re: Emoji Communication Design, Card Games
I just have to do this so I stop thinking about doing it. (See also Lucy Suchman on the situated-ness of meaning and communication.)

Now think of the following use of language: I send someone shopping. I give him a slip marked "👋🏾 🌞 🍥s". He takes the slip to the shopkeeper, who opens the drawer marked "🍥s"; then he looks up the word "🌞" in a table and finds a colour sample opposite it; then he says the series of cardinal numbers—I assume that he knows them by heart—up to the word "👋🏾" and for each number he takes an 🍥 of the same colour as the sample out of the drawer.——It is in this and similar ways that one operates with words.——"But how does he know where and how he is to look up the word '🌞' and what he is to do with the word '👋🏾'?"——Well, I assume that he acts as I have described. Explanations come to an end somewhere.—But what is the meaning of the word "👋🏾"?—No such thing was in question here, only how the word "👋🏾" is used.

—Wℹ️ttgensteℹ️n, Philosophical Investigations I.

👋🏾👋🌞🎃🍥

(The original, which really shouldn’t be necessary: Now think of the following use of language: I send someone shopping. I give him a slip marked "five red apples". He takes the slip to the shopkeeper, who opens the drawer marked "apples"; then he looks up the word "red" in a table and finds a colour sample opposite it; then he says the series of cardinal numbers—I assume that he knows them by heart—up to the word "five" and for each number he takes an apple of the same colour as the sample out of the drawer.——It is in this and similar ways that one operates with words.——"But how does he know where and how he is to look up the word 'red' and what he is to do with the word 'five'?"——Well, I assume that he acts as I have described. Explanations come to an end somewhere.—But what is the meaning of the word "five"?—No such thing was in question here, only how the word "five" is used.

—Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations I.)


On Aug 10, 2015, at 12:32 AM, May-Li Khoe wrote:

Perhaps we can combine them with these somehow:

<image2.JPG>

I acquired stacks of sheets of emoji stickers a while back after LayersConf, when Oisin Prendiville ran an experimental session called the Emoji Chamber. He had walked people through a guided meditation of sorts, followed by some silent introspective time using a paper with four quadrants + an inner circle… with Arvo Pärt playing in the background.

I had originally planned to use these as a little gateway to talk about symbols, representation and culture with high schoolers. But I could probably get more. 

On Aug 6, 2015, at 1:24 PM, Chaim Gingold wrote:

I recently made some emoji cards with the laser cutter. Actually, just about all the emoji cards: 874. Having hand cut cards before, the laser cutter was deeply appreciated. However don’t ask me to make another set just yet, it’s still a lot of labor!

(For the time being, all of the PDFs used are here.)

<IMG_2756.jpeg>

Emoji are confounding and delightful symbols to play with, as you probably already know from personal experience. Liat Berdugo and I have designed and play tested some games together, and if people are interested we could play some of them at CDG after some more refinement. Below, Emily and Marko are playing an “Am I…?” game, and Emily has used some cards to articulate a story. Can you guess the title?

<IMG_2741.jpeg><IMG_2749.jpeg><IMG_2750.jpeg>