Assignment 1, Submission 1- Introductory Letter

Dear Professor Blackstone,

I am Marc Chan from TLM1010, Trimester 1, class of 2020/21. I wish to introduce myself properly as I didn't feel I did so during our first lesson. I graduated from Singapore Polytechnic with a Diploma in Electrical and Electronics Engineering in 2018, building upon a Higher NITEC Diploma from ITE I earned a few years prior. I found my way into Telematics, drawn by the theory of inter-machine communication that is in its definition, especially to the question as to how to achieve the art and science of effective communication between participants in the network, be they human or machine. 

The question as to how to communicate effectively has been plaguing me for years, long before I've learned of Telematics. I was a Dog Handler during my time in the Army, and in order to effectively utilize our Dogs, I had to correctly interpret their emotional and physical state. Not properly understanding their emotions and needs and forcing them to carry out a task they were not able or willing to do could turn them unruly, or even aggressive towards me or others around myself. Many times, I found myself wishing that I could communicate with them directly instead of doing the exhaustive training required to properly familiarize myself with their body language just to get some semblance of effective teamwork to do our jobs.

It is my belief that in order to effectively converse with someone, one must also be a good listener. After all, a conversation is a 2-way street. I take this to heart, trying my best to listen to what the other party has to say first before I chip in with my own message. This is true even with dogs. Signs of distress, discomfort, or aggression will manifest in the dog's body language before they start acting out or succumbing to injury. Hurting or losing control of my charges was my worst fear back then and I strove more from then on to look out for and listen to information that may be vital to my job, studies, and relationships. Thus, being a good listener is an advantage that I consider myself having. 

Conversely, I have yet to master the art of properly interpreting information that I receive, as well as to respond appropriately. Sometimes, I took instructions too literally, disregarding nuance. Other times, I didn't follow them closely enough and bungled up work by incorrectly assuming that I've got the gist of said instructions and tuning out important details. 

I hope to not only learn and improve upon my ability to process and infer upon information that I receive in conversations through your course but to also get a sense of what the field of telematics is about in the broader sense according to it's the definition of inter-communications amongst the disparate range of devices and users.

Yours Sincerely,

Marc Chan