How is your brain these days? Mine is in a terrible state of disrepair.
How do you know?
How do I know what?
That your brain is in a state of disrepair.
Oh I see. Well, I was listening to the radio this morning and there was a very interesting item about Christmas shopping intentions this year in a time of economic hardship. The report said that people would be spending less on presents and food than in previous year. I reflected that this was very much a PC response, i.e. giving the pollster the answer that he or she expected to hear, and that come February we would learn that spending at Christmas 2011 had broken all records.
Suitably impressed by my own cleverness, I switched my attention back to radio, only to find that I had missed all the rest of the news! How is it possible to digest and react to what you hear and AT THE SAME TIME listen out for what is said next? Thank goodness human conversation doesn't work like that. People usually have the decency to wait for you to respond before they move on. Well, most people anyway.
UPDATE
I have found a solution to my problem. As you probably know, most of what you hear on the radio is available on a "listen again" basis, or faiming that, can be downloaded as a podcast. From there it's an easy matter to hit the "pause" button whilst you gather your scattered wits. By this simple expedient you can revolutionise your "listening" experience and, contrary to what I wrote above, make it more enjoyable than a real live conversation. In real life, I find, people are rarely if ever inclined to shut up when I endeavour to talk to them.
How do you know?
How do I know what?
That your brain is in a state of disrepair.
Oh I see. Well, I was listening to the radio this morning and there was a very interesting item about Christmas shopping intentions this year in a time of economic hardship. The report said that people would be spending less on presents and food than in previous year. I reflected that this was very much a PC response, i.e. giving the pollster the answer that he or she expected to hear, and that come February we would learn that spending at Christmas 2011 had broken all records.
Suitably impressed by my own cleverness, I switched my attention back to radio, only to find that I had missed all the rest of the news! How is it possible to digest and react to what you hear and AT THE SAME TIME listen out for what is said next? Thank goodness human conversation doesn't work like that. People usually have the decency to wait for you to respond before they move on. Well, most people anyway.
UPDATE
I have found a solution to my problem. As you probably know, most of what you hear on the radio is available on a "listen again" basis, or faiming that, can be downloaded as a podcast. From there it's an easy matter to hit the "pause" button whilst you gather your scattered wits. By this simple expedient you can revolutionise your "listening" experience and, contrary to what I wrote above, make it more enjoyable than a real live conversation. In real life, I find, people are rarely if ever inclined to shut up when I endeavour to talk to them.
I think intelligence is overrated anyway. I like what Twain said about needing more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. Of course, quoting Twain in an attempt to prove that intelligence is overrated might not be the smartest choice...
ReplyDeleteAnon Dubai
... and yes, I am afraid I am going through a pretty intense Mark Twain phase!
ReplyDeleteI love that quote, which I hadn't heard before. I'm afraid I haven't got any Mark Twain quotes readily to hand, Laure! So you'll have to make do with one from George Bernard Shaw: Military justice is to justice what military music is to music."
ReplyDelete"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."
ReplyDeleteI wonder who said that?
ReplyDeleteTwain again. He also wrote: "I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."
ReplyDeleteWhere do you get them all?!
ReplyDelete