Having just read Mitch Joel’s post, The End of Conversation in Social Media, I’ve been inspired to put into words something that’s been bouncing around in my skull for a while now. There are reasons conversation breaks down in the mass-media world of the internet, but I’ll have to explain a bit for you to understand. It’s a little geeky, but my brain runs on GeekOS so you’ll have to translate using whatever software your brain uses.

Ideas Are Just Files

Conversation as defined by the Oxford American Dictionary:

conversation |ˌkänvərˈsā sh ən|
noun
the informal exchange of ideas by spoken words

So conversation is the exchange of data from one brain to the next, like computers transferring files. It’s basic communication, right? Why do we as a human society have so much trouble with this? I’ve read studies that cite “Lack of communication” as the number one reason for divorce. Why is such a fundamental low-level task like exchanging data so complex and difficult for many to grasp?

Try thinking like a computer for a moment. The entire purpose of this blog post is to transfer a file, Conversation.idea from my brain into yours.

I’m typing on a Mac. With only 10% of the market share or less, chances are good you’re not reading this on a Mac. Not only are our brains two different machines, we’re very likely running on completely different software. Instead of three main options- Mac, Windows, Linux -every human being is running a unique version of an infinite number of operating systems. Philosophers would call this a “worldview” but philosophers don’t make the kind of money programmers do, so we’re sticking with my analogy.
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Language is a tricky thing. The spoken or written word is comparable to the disks passed between computers; language is the medium through which our internal software shares its files. If our operating systems are incompatible, language acts as the emulator that allows another to see from our perspective.

As such, we are judged by the breadth of our vocabulary. I’ve always prided myself my linguistic prowess (despite the, ahem, flavor of vocabulary I choose while playing video games late at night), so I’m happy to share with you a recent client of mine, JustVocabulary.com

Take a listen to their new theme music and, while you’re there, perhaps learn a little bit about the English language. Or, if you’re already a linguistic savant, learn a few new ways to transfer files from one brain to the next!