Silent communication for Holmes and Watson

[mightymads]

stonepicnicking_okapi has a ficlet where Holmes and Watson use Morse code to communicate without making a sound, drumming their fingers on each other’s body parts. The idea fascinated me so much that I did some research. It seems that Morse code has a resurgence in popularity due to possibilities it offers to people with disabilities: e.g. a blind person can type using the dot-and-dash keyboard. There is a Google project which helps to learn Morse code within a few hours.

So, it was all very interesting—letters represented by combinations of short and long signals, or dits and dahs. I plunged into studies and soon could create short messages, but then it occurred to me: how do you tap in Morse? There are no short and long taps. All taps sound the same. This is when a scene from Current War came to mind. There Thomas Edison’s little son knocks a spoon against his tea saucer, sending a funny message no one in the room can understand except his parents who taught him Morse code. 



The boy uses a double knock for a long signal and a single knock for a short signal.

E. g. the letter ‘H’ is four short signals, and ‘O’ is three long ones.

H      O     L    M    E   S

....  _ _ _  ._..  _ _    .   ...

If Watson were to drum his fingers against the back of Holmes's hand, it would be something like this:
 

Tap tap tap tap (H)/ tap-tap tap-tap tap-tap (O)/ tap tap-tap tap tap (L)/ tap-tap tap-tap (M)/ tap (E)/ tap tap tap (S)

It's clear that rhythm is important for the recipient to be able to distinguish between letters. It takes a lot of practice, but it's fun!

Comments

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Of course, you're right. It didn't even occur to me the obstacle to 'tapping' Morse code, but I am glad you solved it! It would take a long time to tap the messages I had them send back and forth in the ficlet, but perhaps they were unusually proficient by that point (or had incentive to be!) And it's a brilliant tie in to the scene in the film.

[rachelindeed]

I think if they were going by the feel of a tap rather than the sound of it, then there would be no obstacle -- a touch in which the finger comes to rest for a moment would be 'long' and a brief brush with no lingering would be 'short' :) I love your idea!

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Thanks! I suppose they'd figure it out :)

[mightymads]

Re: lingering touch

I thought about that too, btw, as I tried to recreate tapping against my own hand. That would be reasonable. And in cases they had to rely on the sound of it, maybe they would have to do double tapping after all. A scene from The Office with clicking of a computer mouse and blinking of the eyes is also funny :)

[mightymads]

I'm sure they were as proficient as professional telegraph operators 😄

[senmut]

Awesome.

[mightymads]

👍

[003_5]

Cool info, and that scene was so adorable!

[mightymads]

Glad you found it interesting!

[natrix_natrix]

Oh that double tap is very interesting, I never thought about it. I wonder if a composer could be able to hide message in the percussion of one of their musical pieces. It would be absolutely hard, almost impossible considering that you have to take into account both the actual writing of the message in code AND making it sound pleasant to the ear so as not to arouse suspicion. No idea how the poor chap could end up in this situation either: secret communication between gangs of musicians criminals? That sounds a little bit too silly to be realistic.
I'm gonna go check out that google project you linked now, it sounds like a lot of fun.

[mightymads]

A secret message in a sheet of music? Sounds like a very interesting idea! And a challenge too, especially for a nerd like Holmes or someone equally talented and cunning. Remember that Granada episode, when Holmes drums his fingers against an armrest, mimicking the rhythm of the music piece he heard a few days before? The music rhythm itself could be a message, and more difficult to catch while listening to the orchestra version. If, on the other hand, it's tapped away...

[natrix_natrix]

Yes, exactly!! I totally forgot about that episode, but it fits so well! Imagine if Holmes had cracked the code right then and there and then shot out of the barber shop without a word. Poor Watson, abandoned in the middle of his haircut and trying to decide if he should wait till it's done or pay the barber for a job half done and run after Holmes.

[mightymads]

Could be a nice premise to write a fic ;)