Day 16: Game

Sending Message Questions:

-- What was the word you were sent, and what is its definition?
The word which I was sent was the word TARNALLY. This word is an adjective and is used as an alteration of the word 'eternal.' Tarnal also means damned.

-- What was the word you were trying to send, and what is its definition?
The word which I was trying to send was the word KATCINAS. Katcinas is a noun and it means any of various ancestral spirits deified by the Hopi Indians and impersonated in religious rituals by masked dancers. It is a Hopi religious ritual were they impersonate a spirit.

-- How long does it take you to send your message using this method?
It actually did not take me very long at all to send my message with this method. I found that my timing was fairly well planned out when I sent my messages and I ensured that they were received. It did take a while for everyone to send their messages for the entire 'game' to be over however.

-- Was it easier to send or receive a message using this method?
I find it easier to send my message than receive. I sent mine quickly but it took a while for me to actually receive mine which could greatly interfere with appropriate communication.

-- What were some of the bottlenecks?
One of the main bottlenecks which appeared in this communication process was the congestion. Once one collision occurred, two or three more collisions would occur consecutively. This seemed to continue and people were not sure of how long to wait before trying again. I also noticed that if one individual was 'collided' with they would try to send their message immediately after which interfered with the overall process. Another bottleneck would probably be finding a way to communicate with your partner if a letter or message was not understood. This caused for many persons to have the wrong letters which would, thus, completely throw off their word which they were receiving. Also, an appropriate 'tone' needed to be implemented so as how to voice the 8 bits you were going to read out loud.

-- How could you speed up this process or make it more efficient?
To make this process more efficient and to speed it up I believe that from the beginning everyone should have gone in a circle. With 27 messages and 8 characters a piece everybody would have received their messages within 8 rounds of the circle. This would have been much more time efficient as well as understandable. It would also give others the capability of predicting when their message was going to be sent and when they should prepare to write down their own individual messages.