I started this thread over on the other side and wanted to share it here as well.
I have noticed that many people have a comprehension problem that I believe is due in large part to an online information overload. Apparently, the average attention span for any subject online is around eight seconds. This is what I refer to as the goldfish effect because goldfish have a nine-second attention span.
time.com
So people will glance over the title of a topic and make a predetermined judgement about the content. They quickly presuppose whatever might actually be in an article, blog, or post, to save time for the higher-priority subjects where they can use up the full eight seconds of their attention span.
This isn't just something going on with people's online interactions, this happens in daily real-time conversations as well. Too often I have had people who interrupt me in mid-sentence and insert their predetermined assumptions like they can read minds. They are in such a hurry to reach a conclusion they don't listen for much more than half of that eight seconds before they have analyzed your partial statement, figured out the rest before you have finished, and have come to a conclusion. I've been interrupted so badly in this way as to just bow out and keep my actual thoughts to myself, as everyone seems to know what I'm saying before I even say it. Basically, no one takes the time to listen (or read) and understand what other people say because the data stream isn't condensed and fast enough.
This behavior leads people down avenues of skewed logic based on assumptions that are often political. These assumptions will also lead to mischaracterizations and misinformation to the point of libel and slander through rumors and gossip. This goldfish effect has been used for online propaganda to influence the goldfish, memes are a great example. Unfortunately, I don't have any memes I can use while having an in-person conversation. Maybe a t-shirt with memes for every occasion could work, then I could just point.
As a propaganda tool, this can be used to hijack a conversation. Cut someone off by cutting them to the chase. Just jump to some conclusions then take the conversation anywhere you want it to go.
I could start with myself as an example with this one. I would do this very thing until after annoying people like my better half far too much before I finally realized what I was doing. I have always tried to be a good listener, but what do I, or anyone else, actually hear?
I try to understand what people say more than I assume I know what they are talking about. So I listen to (or read) what they say carefully and I try to make myself as clear as my use of the English language will allow. One tactic I've been using lately is when I tell someone they have interrupted and they respond with, "Well what were you saying?", I tell them, as Oliver North would say, "I do not recall" because it was obviously not important enough for them to listen to it in the first place.
I have noticed that many people have a comprehension problem that I believe is due in large part to an online information overload. Apparently, the average attention span for any subject online is around eight seconds. This is what I refer to as the goldfish effect because goldfish have a nine-second attention span.
time.com
So people will glance over the title of a topic and make a predetermined judgement about the content. They quickly presuppose whatever might actually be in an article, blog, or post, to save time for the higher-priority subjects where they can use up the full eight seconds of their attention span.
This isn't just something going on with people's online interactions, this happens in daily real-time conversations as well. Too often I have had people who interrupt me in mid-sentence and insert their predetermined assumptions like they can read minds. They are in such a hurry to reach a conclusion they don't listen for much more than half of that eight seconds before they have analyzed your partial statement, figured out the rest before you have finished, and have come to a conclusion. I've been interrupted so badly in this way as to just bow out and keep my actual thoughts to myself, as everyone seems to know what I'm saying before I even say it. Basically, no one takes the time to listen (or read) and understand what other people say because the data stream isn't condensed and fast enough.
This behavior leads people down avenues of skewed logic based on assumptions that are often political. These assumptions will also lead to mischaracterizations and misinformation to the point of libel and slander through rumors and gossip. This goldfish effect has been used for online propaganda to influence the goldfish, memes are a great example. Unfortunately, I don't have any memes I can use while having an in-person conversation. Maybe a t-shirt with memes for every occasion could work, then I could just point.
As a propaganda tool, this can be used to hijack a conversation. Cut someone off by cutting them to the chase. Just jump to some conclusions then take the conversation anywhere you want it to go.
I could start with myself as an example with this one. I would do this very thing until after annoying people like my better half far too much before I finally realized what I was doing. I have always tried to be a good listener, but what do I, or anyone else, actually hear?
I try to understand what people say more than I assume I know what they are talking about. So I listen to (or read) what they say carefully and I try to make myself as clear as my use of the English language will allow. One tactic I've been using lately is when I tell someone they have interrupted and they respond with, "Well what were you saying?", I tell them, as Oliver North would say, "I do not recall" because it was obviously not important enough for them to listen to it in the first place.
A trail goes two ways and looks different in each direction - There is no such thing as a timid woodland creature - Whatever does not kill you leaves you a survivor - Jesus is NOT a bad word - MSB
