Of course you are right here. I do have a tendency to exaggerate. I mean...of course I have not actually met everyone on the planet and I am sure there are many who did not get the 'memo'. LOL But I don't know them so...in my little world...full of 'special' people who communicate well, I am alone. That is much different from my positive attributes though where I am special.marjoramblues wrote:artisticsolution wrote:Hi MB,
MB:I know that you recognize that there are different 'ways' and 'patterns' re communication, depending on writer/artist, message/medium and any 'audience' in context. I don't accept this idea of a 'world memo' which everyone has received - where did that spring from ?
AS: Oh Sorry...it sprang from my frustration at not being able to understand things other people do and seeing the same thing happen sometimes when I try to communicate back with them.
It seems like everyone but me understands.
For instance, take last week....All I wanted to do was be able to use paypal so that people could purchase my paintings. Easy right? Obviously...as almost everyone I know uses it and has not had a problem setting it up...oh but not me. I go to the paypal site and it might have been written in Chinese. So there I was...reading it over and over...and the way it was worded just did not make sense to me! So I just did what I could do and thought I had followed the instructions correct... ...how hard do I have to work to do what was a cinch for other people?! It friggin pisses me off!
MB:You are more than able to understand and express yourself - what's with this eternal complaint ( yet not !) you have about yourself ? Why do you think you are 'special' in any way?
AS: Yes, I am a good artist. So what's so wrong with admitting I am 'good at this' yet 'suck at that'? I don't understand why you use the word special. To me 'special' means something positive...not something negative.
MB:So what if you have to re-read and ask 101 questions - I'm much the same. I believe that in a philo discussion that is pretty much how it should be - so much better than gibly assuming that you know exactly what someone else is talking about, and where they are coming from personality-wise.
AS: I hear what you are saying...but philosophy and real life are different and I am impatient when I don't understand the language style. I don't want to spend all day trying to figure out how to use paypal. I want to have a life.
AS. Again your specific 'technical language' example of your difficulty in setting up a financial transaction system does not support your 'complaint' that the whole world has received a memo and you haven't: 'I have noticed that the entire world speaks a different language than I do -'
This is where I see you as setting yourself up as 'special' (different from what is usual) - and having different 'needs':
'I can't expect my needs and desires regarding communication to supersede the majority. It is much easier that I conform to their way rather than they conform to mine'.
Who said that there is anything wrong with admitting relative strengths and weaknesses? This is not what your original statement was about, nor what I am questioning. Again, you slip-slide from one meaning to another; I see this as a skilful manipulation of words, changing the argument in such a manner. You complain about your poor abilities to understand and communicate, I believe that you are being dishonest here - or are being insensitive as to people who have a real lack of comprehension and ability to communicate. Perhaps both.
You say you want to have a life. Get real, AS, you have one that is far richer than many - and communication plays a big part. Your PN contributions are many and articulate - you paint scenes with words, you argue, you question, you seek solutions...need I go on
...OK. I will...And this ability to manipulate words in a virtual forum is only one manner of presentation which moves someone to think - you can scribe, you can verbal and you can paint. Some might make music.
And most of us can 'hear' but perhaps not listen carefully enough...
We can all be less than clear in our expression, but isn't it grand that we can explore our ways of looking at, and appreciate the world in so many ways.
But all that is just our perception. You mention the word special...and it reminds me of what satyr was talking about in another thread. How can the word 'special' mean both something positive and something negative? Is it because we want to lie to ourselves and say we are all equal? For example...the 'special' Olympics....who would want to be special in this instance? Not I. But if I was "special' in this way...I would want to be seen as special (the positive)...not 'special' (in the negative). Although I am certain that there would be people who perceived my handicap in both ways.
I can only communicate the way I communicate. I use words by how they 'feel' to me...and not what definition the trend has set up. This "trend" constantly changes and there are usually 'hot button' words that one is not allowed to use...because even if they use them with benign intentions, society automatically thinks of them as meaning the trendy definition. And what is more...those type of words (whatever they be at the time) change with the tide. What was once ok to say...now becomes bad to say. And it's not like the dictionary changed the definition...it's that society changed. For example, the word "Gay" today....has a totally different meaning than it did in my grandmothers day. To say someone is Gay today could be seen as an insult. So tell me...what is that but making a judgment based on aesthetics?
- in my dictionary there are 4 meanings of 'cool' as an adjective; 3 as a verb; a description of how it is used in a phrase; its derivatives ( another adjective and adverb), and its origin.
