Reading Twitter exchanges can be as good as going to the panto, except that you have limited opportunity to join in with “(S)he’s behind you” or “Oh no it isn’t or oh yes it is” before becoming embroiled in a simmering cauldron.
So I’ve been toying with some thoughts:-
A Twitter tale (fictional)
You may not agree with me, I am me, you are you.
The “truth” is you don’t know me, nor do I know you.
My parents were a product of their upbringing, both were adults in WW2. My grandparents are not yours, mine were miners or of fishers, born before 1900. You will have had your own upbringing, while I will have had mine. Each of us will have been influenced by the people we lived with or met. We will have had, possibly significant, differences in experiences. Mine were not cultured, yours may have been, just by an accident of upbringing.
The “Reality” is you don’t know me, nor do I know you.
You may well have read more than me, have gained a higher set of qualifications and be capable of thinking at a higher level. I am happy to acknowledge that, if it is true. It can be a fact of life, we learn to accept that reality. Discussion, as I understand it, is likely to be a sharing of thoughts, with participants sharing their current understanding or insight into a specific topic. My experience will have led me to one conclusion, yours may be diametrically opposed. Much may coalesce in a “middle ground” of consensus. I enjoy hearing how people’s thoughts have developed; it helps to know how they came to their conclusions. Sometimes the ideas resonate and add immediately to the sum of my understanding; sometimes they are challenging and take time to assimilate.
So I’ve been toying with some thoughts:-
A Twitter tale (fictional)
You may not agree with me, I am me, you are you.
The “truth” is you don’t know me, nor do I know you.
My parents were a product of their upbringing, both were adults in WW2. My grandparents are not yours, mine were miners or of fishers, born before 1900. You will have had your own upbringing, while I will have had mine. Each of us will have been influenced by the people we lived with or met. We will have had, possibly significant, differences in experiences. Mine were not cultured, yours may have been, just by an accident of upbringing.
The “Reality” is you don’t know me, nor do I know you.
You may well have read more than me, have gained a higher set of qualifications and be capable of thinking at a higher level. I am happy to acknowledge that, if it is true. It can be a fact of life, we learn to accept that reality. Discussion, as I understand it, is likely to be a sharing of thoughts, with participants sharing their current understanding or insight into a specific topic. My experience will have led me to one conclusion, yours may be diametrically opposed. Much may coalesce in a “middle ground” of consensus. I enjoy hearing how people’s thoughts have developed; it helps to know how they came to their conclusions. Sometimes the ideas resonate and add immediately to the sum of my understanding; sometimes they are challenging and take time to assimilate.
Sadly you don’t know me, nor do I know you.
140 characters do not support detailed discussion; if you’re lucky ideas can be condensed. Blogs can become dense, reducing their impact, particularly if an argument is extended too long. To function effectively, people have to enjoy a state of equilibrium. Life already holds challenges for some, by virtue of birth or upbringing. Nobody likes to be told they are wrong, especially if that is given as an opinion; it means that the other thinks they are totally right.
You don’t know me, nor do I know you.
The world can appear sufficiently big for you and me to live happily after an argument, but, you don’t know the impact of your comments.
Perhaps you’re not bothered. Perhaps you think “If you can’t stand the heat…..” Perhaps you are a bully, or misanthropic and just enjoy putting people in their place. Perhaps a little Twitter argument spices life up. It doesn’t mean anything, does it?
You don’t know me, nor do I know you.
And, you know what?
I still don’t know you and you don’t know me.
And the world is still turning. Valuable time wasted in contradiction, rather than seeking to understand, moves ideas nowhere. And life, valuable as it is, is sometimes too short for some to waste on futile argument. Once the hair is split, it’s worth realising that the only impact is on two people. Unless, of course, the “discussion” is on Twitter; then it can become a gang mentality. The real sadness is that in another forum we may well have been friends, with much in common, including the enjoyment of a good argument.
Perhaps, among professionals, discussion can become more productive?
Life is not a pantomime.
140 characters do not support detailed discussion; if you’re lucky ideas can be condensed. Blogs can become dense, reducing their impact, particularly if an argument is extended too long. To function effectively, people have to enjoy a state of equilibrium. Life already holds challenges for some, by virtue of birth or upbringing. Nobody likes to be told they are wrong, especially if that is given as an opinion; it means that the other thinks they are totally right.
You don’t know me, nor do I know you.
The world can appear sufficiently big for you and me to live happily after an argument, but, you don’t know the impact of your comments.
Perhaps you’re not bothered. Perhaps you think “If you can’t stand the heat…..” Perhaps you are a bully, or misanthropic and just enjoy putting people in their place. Perhaps a little Twitter argument spices life up. It doesn’t mean anything, does it?
You don’t know me, nor do I know you.
And, you know what?
I still don’t know you and you don’t know me.
And the world is still turning. Valuable time wasted in contradiction, rather than seeking to understand, moves ideas nowhere. And life, valuable as it is, is sometimes too short for some to waste on futile argument. Once the hair is split, it’s worth realising that the only impact is on two people. Unless, of course, the “discussion” is on Twitter; then it can become a gang mentality. The real sadness is that in another forum we may well have been friends, with much in common, including the enjoyment of a good argument.
Perhaps, among professionals, discussion can become more productive?
Life is not a pantomime.
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