Communication Breakdown
Kudos to anyone who got the Led Zeppelin reference in the title.
Anyway, this is a semi-rant over something that has started to bother me recently, but looking back I realise it's actually been happening for a while, just has increased over the last while so is more noticible.
You see, verbal communication (i.e. speaking) is great for getting whatever is in your head into someone else's, for sharing your thoughts with others. Thus it intrigues me whenever people say something vocally, yet then act in a way which completely contradicts their sentiments. As they say, actions speak louder than words, and I tend to trust body language/actions as how someone truly feels, moreso than what they're saying, for this exact reason. Is it truly that hard to say what you mean, to mean what you say?
The first question from this is: Is the contradiction intentional? Or are people just so unaware of themselves that they don't realise they don't agree with what they're saying? My guess would be the last one, just that if people really are that unaware of how they're feeling, and vocalise the opposite, then it truly is worrying. One thing that keeps a society functioning is accurate communication between people, so it'd be nice if you could trust what people said - while that is far off, it'd certainly be nice (and should be possible) to trust what people said about themselves...
Second question - Why is this happening? The first thing that comes to mind is the same cause as many problems nowadays: thought laziness. People are getting away with less and less deep thought, that reflecting on how you feel is apparently too hard, it's simpler to say the cliche that comes to mind first, which fits best, and others will be happy with, even when it's not true =(
The other reason which strikes me is egotism. Why? Well, verbal communication sends messages to others, and usually they act on these messages. If you actually worried about others reacting to what you say, then you'd try not to mislead (I would have thought...I guess I'm wrong). Instead, what happens is communication breakdown, people react but to the wrong thing, and that's when problems begin...
One final reason, which would be awesome, is that everyone is aware of what they feel, say and do, and the differences are to make things more interesting. Though based on how complex interaction is, I seriously doubt it.
Final question - Is it a problem, and if so, what can we do about it? My answer so far is: Yes, and I don't know. Personally, all I can do is try best to mean what I say, and try to get really good at body language :p
Mindless thoughts, thoughtless minds, to the heroes it's obvious, it's time to be leaving town...
On random non-sequiturs:
National Campus Bands Concert is on at Uni soon, maybe the first gig for the Pegasi?
And skiing (well, more snowboarding) was cold, expensive, but awesome!
Coming back was confusing however, when I found my supermarket had weird discounts:
-) 2L iced coffee cheaper than 2L plain milk
-) Packet of 20 chips cheaper than packet of 15
-) Softdrink cheaper per litre if bought in 1.25L than 2L bottles
Oh discordia...
Anyway, this is a semi-rant over something that has started to bother me recently, but looking back I realise it's actually been happening for a while, just has increased over the last while so is more noticible.
You see, verbal communication (i.e. speaking) is great for getting whatever is in your head into someone else's, for sharing your thoughts with others. Thus it intrigues me whenever people say something vocally, yet then act in a way which completely contradicts their sentiments. As they say, actions speak louder than words, and I tend to trust body language/actions as how someone truly feels, moreso than what they're saying, for this exact reason. Is it truly that hard to say what you mean, to mean what you say?
The first question from this is: Is the contradiction intentional? Or are people just so unaware of themselves that they don't realise they don't agree with what they're saying? My guess would be the last one, just that if people really are that unaware of how they're feeling, and vocalise the opposite, then it truly is worrying. One thing that keeps a society functioning is accurate communication between people, so it'd be nice if you could trust what people said - while that is far off, it'd certainly be nice (and should be possible) to trust what people said about themselves...
Second question - Why is this happening? The first thing that comes to mind is the same cause as many problems nowadays: thought laziness. People are getting away with less and less deep thought, that reflecting on how you feel is apparently too hard, it's simpler to say the cliche that comes to mind first, which fits best, and others will be happy with, even when it's not true =(
The other reason which strikes me is egotism. Why? Well, verbal communication sends messages to others, and usually they act on these messages. If you actually worried about others reacting to what you say, then you'd try not to mislead (I would have thought...I guess I'm wrong). Instead, what happens is communication breakdown, people react but to the wrong thing, and that's when problems begin...
One final reason, which would be awesome, is that everyone is aware of what they feel, say and do, and the differences are to make things more interesting. Though based on how complex interaction is, I seriously doubt it.
Final question - Is it a problem, and if so, what can we do about it? My answer so far is: Yes, and I don't know. Personally, all I can do is try best to mean what I say, and try to get really good at body language :p
Mindless thoughts, thoughtless minds, to the heroes it's obvious, it's time to be leaving town...
On random non-sequiturs:
National Campus Bands Concert is on at Uni soon, maybe the first gig for the Pegasi?
And skiing (well, more snowboarding) was cold, expensive, but awesome!
Coming back was confusing however, when I found my supermarket had weird discounts:
-) 2L iced coffee cheaper than 2L plain milk
-) Packet of 20 chips cheaper than packet of 15
-) Softdrink cheaper per litre if bought in 1.25L than 2L bottles
Oh discordia...
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