flinn@seismo.UUCP (E. A. Flinn) (02/22/84)
"Most people have a furious itch to talk about themselves and are restrained only by the disinclination of others to listen. Reserve is an artificial quality that is developed in most of us as the result of innumerable rebuffs." -- W. S. Maugham. Has anyone noticed that the network news is really an entirely new way of conversing with people? It differs from ordinary conversation in at least three ways. First, you are talking to many hundreds of people at once, an opportunity few of us have in real life. Second, nobody interrupts you before you finish saying your piece, which has unfortunately become rare in face-to-face conversation. Third, you can talk about yourself and your opinions as much as you like, with a pretty fair likelihood that at least a few people are going to listen to what you say. The bane of network conversation, though, is that most people don't reflect much before flinging their pieces to the winds. This is probably due to general carelessness, but also because the people you're talking to aren't *really* there, looking at you. The occasional flame doesn't provide the kind of feedback you get when you're in the same room with other people.