Telling is Listening

Out of all of the Brain Pickings articles I’ve read this year, this one is is my favorite.  I was fascinated to hear Ursula K. Le Guin’s interpretation and theory on conversations and loved her use of the models/illustrations of the amoebas and the transmitting of information.  Before reading this article, I, like many others, assumed that the speaker in the conversation is more active than the listener, as the speaker holds the information that he/she wants to share.  However, after reading this article, I agree with Le Guin that listening is not just a reaction, but rather a needed part of the conversation connection.  The analogy of the amoebas having sex surprisingly convinced me of the mutual power of both the speaker and listener.  There is no dominant role between the two, as both the speaker and listener, like the amoebas, hold the same amount of power.  

I enjoyed the explanation of the transfer of information in the beginning of the article, illustrated by the model of Box A transmitting information to Box B, because it allowed to fully understand something that my mom always tells me.  When Le Guin describes conversation as something that cannot be reduced to solely to information shared by the speaker, she writes, “The medium in which the message is embedded is immensely complex, infinitely more than a code: it is a language, a function of a society, a culture, in which the language, the speaker, and the hearer are all embedded.”  The information or message one shares can be hidden in what one says , and it may be interpreted in a different way than initially intended.  Like Le Guin says, mediums in conversations are extremely complex, which can result in misinterpretation or a confused, bumpy conversation. My mother always says, “It is not what you say, but how you say it,” and after reading this section about mediums in the transmission of information, I totally agree with my mom.  These complex mediums in conversation can definitely alter the true message of what one means to say.  Human conversation is such a fascinating thing, and I feel enlightened after learning of Le Guin’s interpretation of conversation.

Really enjoyed this article!!!