Communication - verbal, nonverbal, visual language, touch or smell - has been around since the dawn of humanity. Transcripts from the Bible show the very first humans, Adam and Eve, talking to each other and communicating with God. Communication happens everywhere. We can "see" it in the roar of a lion and the bleating of a sheep. We see it in remote places like Guinea and in the bustle of the New York Metro. Though communication is ubiquitous and we are immersed in it, miscommunication is rampant. Miscommunication is rampant not only in today's world, but in every past culture and society as well. Possibly the first notation of miscommunication, or a breakdown in communication, occurs when Adam and Eve lied to God about eating the forbidden fruit. History continues on with uncountable numbers of communication breakdowns, quite possibly the most historical being the Tower of Babel. The Bible says in Genesis 11 that, "The Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.  The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
             The Tower of Babel was not completed because of a total chaotic breakdown in communication (or an utter lack of verbal communication). Even today, Babel is defined as being "A scene of noisy confusion." Babel and communication breakdowns are a prevalent and an integrated part of the world, but there is a specific form of miscommunication that needs to be stressed and that is visual communication in the visual world, as talked about by E.H. Gombrich.
             Before delving into the underworld of miscommunication, it is first important to elucidate on certain claims that must be accepted as accurate before continuing. The first has already been lightly mentioned. Communication as a whole does not and has ne...