"Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
1–10 of 72 posts
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#2Keyword here is active listening: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_listening
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#3Other kinds of conversational rules, perhaps of more interest to linguists, programmers, philosophers, etc.:
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#4Keyword here is active listening: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_listening
Key concept is that if people want to submit themselves to a one-way stream of communication, they have TV and the internet for that. If a conversation isn't two-way, you're alienating someone.
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#5Other kinds of conversational rules, perhaps of more interest to linguists, programmers, philosophers, etc.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicature http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gricean_maxim
And my favorite: Grice's paradox http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Grice#Grice.27s_Paradox
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#6> Would the alien ever learn to distinguish good dancers from poor dancers?
He could hack the problem like this: instead of figuring out which type of dancing is impressive directly, just watch reactions. People react to what they think is good dancing, so by watching people he can learn what's considered good dancing.
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#7I wish that both CS and MBA programs taught students to listen more. One of the few similarities I find between programmers/engineers and MBAs is the need to completely dominate a conversation. A few seminars on active listening would help everyone :)
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#8If you haven't already read How to Win Friends and Influence People, you definitely should.
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#9> Would the alien ever learn to distinguish good dancers from poor dancers? He could hack the problem like this: instead of figuring out which type of dancing is impressive directly, just watch reactions. People react to what they think is good dancing, so by watching people he can learn what's considered good dancing.
That's exactly what I thought.
In the context of Adams' mind experiment there's a problem with this approach: the aliens need to now both there is a goal to dancing or conversing well, and what that goal is. (Which is confounded a bit by there being multiple goals for these activities, and not everybody's going for the same ones in any given context. Two people who just met will want a different thing from conversation than two friends shooting the shit.)
However, Adams' rhetorical questions (though not, I think, his mind experiment itself) have a flaw: people with Asberger's syndrome generally know what the goal of those activities is (or at least, what they want out of it), but are unable to judge whether they're actually achieving those goals (since they have a hard time gauging other peoples reactions as you suggest).
This fits with the mind experiment though. Suppose the aliens figure out that conversation and dancing have goals - even what those goals are. The alien still can't tell who the good conversationalists or dancers are without understanding things like human body language, vocal inflection, or subtle word choice - which is nearly the same set of problems people with Asberger's have.
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#10Anyone who is really interested in this concept should pick up "Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships" by Dr. Temple Grandin and Sean Barron.
Dr. Grandin is herself autistic, and asserts that people along the autism-Asperger's spectrum need to learn the rules explicitly, like actors learning their lines in a play.