11/13/2023 0 Comments Dot dot dash meaningThe spacing between elements of the same letter is one dot. For example: The dash is three dots long. The dot is of an arbitrary duration with everything else being relative to that common unit. The timing of the Morse code sequencing uses the “dot” as its basic unit. How we represent the dots and dashes in relation to each other is also very specific. In theory, the more frequently the letter is used, the more memorable the associated dots and dashes, vocalized as dits for dots and dahs for dashes. From there the letters were assigned a code. He assigned those the simplest code: a single dash or “–” for T and a single dot or “ Morse did some studying and discovered that (as any Wheel of Fortune fan knows) T and E are the most frequently used letters in the English language. Believe it or not, there’s a method to his madness. Deciphering the CodeĪt first glance it looks as if ol’ Sammy put a bunch of dots and dashes in a hat and randomly assigned them to letters wherever he felt like it. Banging on a pipe with a chunk of concrete or using the beeping feature on some two-way radios comes to mind. Audibly, Morse code can be utilized by anything that makes noise. Morse code adapts to multiple forms of communication easily and can be used visually with a flashlight, a mirror reflecting sunlight, by blinking one’s eyes (see side bar), or even plainly drawn out as a pictograph of dots and dashes. Why should anyone even learn, much less take time to master, such an antiquated system? Wouldn’t it be like learning conversational Latin … “fun” to learn, but something you won’t ever have a use for? But it’s precisely the barebones low-tech/no-tech nature of Morse code that makes it an essential skill to hone when preparing for WTSHTF. It’s been a while since Morse code revolutionized long-distance communication and has since fallen to the wayside, replaced by more modern methods of communication, including smartphones, text messages, and email. Unless you’re a radio operator, Eagle Scout, or grew up in a telegraph office, your exposure to Morse code has probably been limited to RUSH pounding out the call letters for the Toronto Airport (if you’re not familiar, search YouTube for “YYZ”). That’s tech talk for a system of “dots” and “dashes” that represent numbers and letters. What they created was a binary encrypted alphanumeric code that could be just as easily transmitted visually, sonically, or tactilely. This partnership of a struggling artist and nerdy physicist would match letters of the alphabet to the varying durations between switching an electric current on and off. Long before the epidemic of tweeting duck-faced selfies with the Prime Minister of Denmark or posting your latest pasta selection at Olive Garden, Sam Morse (with some help from Joe Henry) was posting status updates to his BFFs as early as 1836. This article originally appeared in Issue 3 of our magazine.
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