The Morse Code “Fist”

The Morse code is made up of a unique series of dots and dashes each with its own length of elapsed time. Since the Morse code is sent by humans, the prospect of human error is always a part of the mix. When operators used to send messages using old manual machines, the spaces between the dots and dashes would vary and be unique to that particular operator. Although barely detectable in many cases, an astute observer was able to pick up the motif. It was helpful in World War II; American and British decoders could identify the cadence in intercepted German messages and identify who was sending the message and where it originated from. A pattern unique to an individual operator was referred to as a Morse code “fist.”

The Four Horsemen

John Gottman who devised an effective way of thin-slicing the relationships...