living books
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article3790377.ece
I'm not sure what I think of this. I mean...hm...
I'm not sure what I think of this. I mean...hm...
posted by dm at 10:18 PM
posted by dm at 10:18 PM
8 Comments:
This is AMAZING! This is SUCH a great idea! I love it. Someone please bring this to Toronto.
I guess I have mixed feelings because I think human beings are human beings, and you shouldn't ask them with the same gall questions you could ask a book. There should be more relationship, not necessarily the one-off. But I think I have a bit of a bias, because in a way my life is like this all the time. Meeting people once, asking all sorts of questions, and maybe I'm a little tired of it. I want a book I can take home and learn cover to cover. And reread!
Shouldn't you take them out for coffee first? ;)
ho ho ho...aren't you clever!
Haha! *high-fives feiner*
But, see, the difficulty of treating everyone as just equal human beings is that you fall into the patterns of social interaction which can ultimately lead you (or rather, me) to follow the same kind of shallow, repetitive, and well-defined habits that generally gain acceptance by The Crowd. Whereas if you meet someone who has been given (and has accepted) the label Gay Man or Token Muslim, you can have the audacity to say, "So, what's up with this whole Jihad business?" and not be afraid of the fact that they're going to accuse you of seeing them only as a Muslim. I guess the difference is that in general, yes, we recognize that we're all human beings, but there are so many layers of offensiveness these days that it can be hard to really hone in on the differences which are so intriguing, because everyone spends their time talking about the what makes us all the same.
It's that entire point of being tired of compartmentalizing people into "groups" when we're all more complicated than that but as Rowena mentions, it might be easier to get to the core of certain questions and answers if we can find someone who "fits a label" to speak for it.
As someone in marketing, this isn't a bad thing necessarily -- it helps get a lot of information across in a short amount of time. Stereotypes, while having a negative connotation (and btw, a graphic design history with the printing press!), can have both a positive and negative outcome. I mean, it's not a bad thing that friends consider me the go-to gal for business advice, but people also understand I'm more than that -- but it's okay to "stereotype" me as "that girl that runs a biz" and can answer questions based on that experience.
That being said, I think the concept of borrowing someone for 30 minutes just really underlines the fact that a) people these days have not been socially skilled to start these natural conversations without structured boundaries (i.e. someone who can strike up a convo with a stranger for no real reason but curiousity) and b) time is our real asset.
I don't consider myself shy, but I wish I felt less constrained to strike up a conversation with someone I don't know anywhere, without having to have these "borrow" sessions or structured situations like networking events or conferences.
As usual Lea, I think you are raising some excellent points. I think opportunities to do this are all around us, we just rarely take them. (Unless you are like me and your cup filleth and overfloweth.)
For instance, a train was stalled underground for 3 hours a few weeks ago, and word is that people only started talking to each other after an hour and a half of sitting there.
I understand the many good reasons for the boundaries we maintain in cities, but an hour and a half?!
Oh and about Jihad...I think I just get impatient because so many people when they sit down in a structured dialogue for the first time this is the very first thing they want to know about(if it isn't about the veil or Shariah law.) Is it such a crazy idea to actually read a bit first, and then to get to know someone before bringing up difficult subjects?
I am going to concur about the reading up before asking some questions!!! Good journalists do this because it's part of their job NOT to ask the same 100 questions the last person asked. They get brownie points for getting "exclusives."
Meanwhile regarding where people didn't even talk until an hour and a half... I wish there were ways to encourage more open conversation without hesitation, and without being paranoid that a simple conversation can lead to some type of conflict (which is why some avoid it, methinks)
Post a Comment
<< Home