“I’m a dot” is another Air Forcefully term that derives from technology. They do not need to explicitly state their entire message in words because, through this shared understanding, their listeners know what the speaker means. Outsiders, though, would be completely clueless. Hall: the people communicating with each other have a shared and complex set of values, assumptions and beliefs they subconsciously reference when communicating. This means metaphors are “high-context” communication activities, as described by anthropologist Edward T. Successful use of metaphors requires speaker and listener to share many cultural beliefs, symbols and experiences, and share linguistic practices, to understand what is being said. At its simplest, a metaphor is “understanding one conceptual domain in terms of another conceptual domain” (Kövecses, 4: 2010). This metaphor is particularly complicated as it requires multiple steps to move from hearing someone announcing metaphorically, “I’m leaving,” to mentally perceiving that person as a featureless, distant dot.įirst, I should note the nature of a metaphor. When they are far enough away, they will eventually appear to be nothing more than a dot. As objects move far from us, our eyes perceive less and less detail. It turned out that “ I’m a dot” means “I’m gone” or “I’m out of here.” My colleague explained that this was a reference to a pilot flying quickly away from a companion. Or they can mean the opposite because some dots can be definitive (“That’s all I’m going to say on the matter. There are so many possible meanings for the word “ dot.” Dots are small, featureless and potentially inconsequential (“The town was just a dot on a map.”). This one was different – I had no assumptions at all what “ I’m a dot” meant. So many of the phrases I write about sound like they have one meaning but really mean something else. As my colleague, a retired Air Force officer, walked toward the exit, golden late afternoon sunlight slanting down the hallway through the glass door, he waved over his shoulder and called back, “I’m a dot!” Then he paused, watching to see my reaction, knowing that I would likely tilt my head like a cat hearing a can-opener. I was first introduced to “ I’m a dot” on a Friday afternoon back when we still worked in shared indoor spaces. Today’s Air Forceful term is a metaphor in which an individual uses to erase themselves: “I’m a dot.” Metaphors can make people into so many different things – objects (little pitchers), animals (night owl) and even agricultural products (apple of your eye). Angelle Khachadoorian, AFCLC Associate Professor of Anthropology
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