Signs and signifiers
A lesson in semiotics, for beginners like me
When I was much younger, I spent a lot of time in formal education, studying communications, adult learning, sociology — all those lovely social sciences that went out of style when STEM subjects became the recommended key to future prosperity.
For the longest time, many of the topics and insights I had explored during formal education felt interesting, but not particularly practical or applicable in the real world.
Ah, the hubris of youth.
Now, as I near retirement, I’m finding that my ways of looking at the world are changing and I’m seeing things differently. Here’s one (perhaps odd) example.
I live in a large city near downtown where the skyline is dominated by the edifices of the designated entertainment district. Prominent features are the roofs of two big gathering places — an ice rink and a stadium — that rely on major league sports teams and mass market concerts to attract crowds in the tens of thousands.
The impact of proximity to these gathering places on our neighbourhood is felt most obviously in traffic and access to street parking. When there are no events, traffic flows smoothly and transient parking is readily available.
