One of the more rude styles of conversation is asking the listener if they know the reference. Such a conversation might sound like this:
Talker: "Ruebens demonstrates that particle theory has a flaw in the cyclical applications. Do you know who Ruebens is?"
Listener: "Sounds familiar." The listener thinks for a moment. "No can't recall the name."
Talker: "Ruebens was a nineteenth century physicist who ..." etc. etc.
Note how the talker has built his position in the conversation towards his/her focus. The talker happens to be thinking of 'Ruebens' at the moment and without thinking, inadvertently steps into what I think is a bad habit, and demands the listener's focus by asking them to elicit their knowledge of Ruebens.
Commandeering the focus, like this, may be acceptable in some intellectual circles, where everybody has read, and is prepared with the same research material, but in casual conversation it demonstrates arrogance.
On the polite side you have people who explain their references. Their conversation might sound more like:
Talker: "Rubens, a nineteenth century physicist, demonstrates that particle theory has a flaw in the cyclical applications."
Listener: nods yes.
Note how the conversation can proceed without politics, or positioning by either party.
Now we are entering a new age. I recently saw a demonstration of a brain monitoring device. The aesthetically pleasing young sales lady, dressed in black, with a smirk on her face the whole time, put a pair of head phones on the participant. The head phones had a sensor which extends to the forehead. The device measured brain waves.
The participant sat in a chair. Next to the chair was a screen showing what the sensor measures. The measurements were displayed in a bar chart. As the participant focused their attention, one of the bars expanded. The expanded bar on the chart was a response to an electrical impulse picked up by the head phone brain waver measuring device. Based on recent brain wave research, a certain electrical level showed the participant was listening. Their brain waves, beta, settled out, and the bar chart leveled off. You could tell the sales lady was delighted with her new found power in controlling the applicants focus.
This is an earth shattering new invention. Brain wave monitoring is not a new invention by one person, it's a compilation of many research studies, at many schools and universities around the World. We are entering a new age of mind control, where employers and institutions will be able instruct their managers on how to visually verify the recipient is listening. Imagine what this will do to training. Imagine what it will do to interrogation. Welcome to the mind control age.
Let your imagination go to the future. Not everything we imagine will happen, but you know that little device in your car, the one insurance companies are trying to make mandatory. You know, the one that monitors your every driving action. Imagine if insurance companies can monitor a persons thought processes while they're driving, as well. They'll be able to tell if we pay attention to the road? They will ask (database sytle) "are they distracte? Were they looking away when the accident happened?" "Dangle the carrot," the insurance companies will say, "and we'll give reduced, introductory rates, to people that accept the monitoring device.
How about schools? "Tommy. Pay attention. I don't see the bar chart up here yet," as the teacher points to the display.
And then there's terrorism. What if they could show a television show on the Internet, and people were required to wear their head sets at a certain time while they watch the show. Imagine in the future where certain scenes demonstrated an individuals proficiency for violence based on their attention spans during certain scenes. Then Wham! The Thought Police bust down the door and the person is taken away until they can curb their thinking behavior and not be a danger to society.
Big Brother? No. We're way past that. We have an institutional, corporate, political monster that's contemplating reaching into our minds, for a safer society. The consuming minions will now be trained to buy and consume on demand and act accordingly.
