> 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.
"Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
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Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#12> 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.
But people also react to what is bad dancing; you'd have to know what reactions are favorable, and what reactions indicate displeasure. This would be hard for aliens, who wouldn't know what facial expressions mean.
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#13Other 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
I came here to provide just those links. Not only are the rules of conversation written down, but they're often very heavily discussed and analyzed—even by people who aren't autistic.
And of course, the rules of conversation vary very widely across the globe. Of particular note is the rules of conversation in Malagasy, where to be polite is to be so oblique that in America folks would think you're being purpusefully rude.
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#14Uh-oh, if 3/4 of people can't conversate, couldn't it just be that people aren't meant to do that?
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#15Anyone 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.
Learning the rules is the easy part. The hard part is training yourself to do them consistently. It takes some mental energy and effort.
For example, I've learned that eye contact is important, and have trained myself to do it subconsciously, but when I'm tired or have just given blood, I stop doing it.
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#16Other 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
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicature
Hey, that's really, really fantastic and useful. I can't believe I've never seen it before.
Are you in linguistics? Care to recommend some more reading, articles, essays?
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#17I realized a few months ago that I was talking too much in conversations, and not listening nearly enough. So for the last few months, I've decided to talk a lot less, and spend a lot more time just listening to people. In one on one conversation, I mostly just ask the other guy about the things he's talking about, to lead him into deeper (perhaps more interesting) areas.
This is a great way to talk about interesting things.
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#18Other 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
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicature Hey, that's really, really fantastic and useful. I can't believe I've never seen it before. Are you in linguistics? Care to recommend some more reading, articles, essays?
I took some philosophy classes in college, where I learned about the concept. If you want to read more, the best place to start would be the references and external links provided in the Wikipedia articles. Also try googling for papers by Grice.
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#19If you haven't already read How to Win Friends and Influence People, you definitely should.
One of my bosses made a difficult coworker take a Dale Carnegie class. Afterward he said that it "changed his life." I thought it made him even creepier with the constant fake smile, eye contact and repetition of people's first name in conversation.
Re: "Uh-oh. I didn't know conversation had rules."
#20If you haven't already read How to Win Friends and Influence People, you definitely should.
One of my bosses made a difficult coworker take a Dale Carnegie class. Afterward he said that it "changed his life." I thought it made him even creepier with the constant fake smile, eye contact and repetition of people's first name in conversation.
I agree. To me it sounds rather aggressive if people keep repeating my name while they already have my attention.