Friday, April 27, 2007

Lessons in Non-verbal Communication
  • Why am I thinking that this AP pic, borrowed from HuffPost, is a politician's body language Rosetta Stone?

    (Aside - Edwards impressed me in this first debate. He came off as prepared, presidential, and allergic to BS. A memorable line, speaking about alternative fuels and environmental conservation: "We oughta ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war...to be willing to conserve." I'm still hoping Al Gore steps up though. If Edwards can't close on the top two, I'd be mighty fine with a Gore/Edwards ticket). UPDATE: Looks like Edwards was also a hit at the CDC this weekend.

  • A stray cat is currently hanging around our property. We put food out, but he/she is still very much an on-the-periphery critter. 'Respect my space, Holmes.' Nonetheless, the cat positions itself along specific sight lines from the house. You can't not notice it, way out there at the requisite distance. It stares intently, hunter-stylee. If I was so inclined, I could easily (mis?)interpret this behavior as a telekinetic effort to send us the message: see me, don't feel or touch me, feed me.

  • The other night I played an old (mid-70s) LP - Big Mama Thornton's "Jail."
    I haven't played that record in at least a decade; longer. So, of course, the next morning, a KVMR deejay plays 3 tunes off the album (his, a CD). If I was so inclined, I could easily misinterpret this coincidence as a...

  • As a species, are we selecting for the reduction, or removal, of situations where non-verbal comms play a role? If so, why? There's lots of potential examples: urban to suburban flight; TV (replacing sitting on the front stoop, the village green, the cafe, as a form of decompression) ; cars over mass transit; iPods; blogging. I have some incomplete thoughts on how this fits into our evolution. One point though: natural selection is impartial, regarding a given species' survival. A big, non-verbal, shout-out to anyone still reading this!

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm right behind you on the Gore/Edwards business. It's killing me that he really doesn't seem to be planning to run.

I'm also with you on the I'm-not-sure-why-I'm-still-blogging business... but I'm-a-gonna try to keep it up!

11:37 AM  
Blogger deano said...

It's still soooo early, in spite of all the media hype. Maybe Gore is kickin it old school, waiting until a more traditional announce date.

I'm watching the RNC debate right now - TV is in love with Nancy Reagan & Ahhnold, sitting next to each other, front and center.

4:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I guess you're right, it is early. It's just that he's been pretty convincing about it in interviews... and at the Oscars...

Good on ya for being able to actually watch the RNC. I might have tried if I were home, but I don't think I'd have lasted long.

6:24 AM  
Blogger deano said...

Oh, btw DeReK, please make Mitt Romney feel very welcome and comfy in MA.

He must not get anywhere near DC:
http://wapurl.co.uk/?FWFG5V4

9:21 AM  

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