Some unwritten pressupositions of OST

[Heidi and Dan Chay]

I'm enjoying this thread myself. Thanks, Artur. Artur wrote:


> Presupposition 1 - Human beings have volume!
>
> (The volume implies that they can be seen by others and by oneself;
> that when They enter (or leave) a room everybody will understand that
> this particular volume Has entered (leaved) the room.
>

Artur observed the importance of a person's physical presence, occupying
a volume of physical space.  Chris Corrigan observed how in some mediums
the volume of participation (numbers) can slow a server.  I observe also
volume that is conveyed by a raised voice, an exclamation point, capital
letters, etc..

Delay

Not long ago I read a biography of John and Abigail Adams who among the
notable founders of the US maintained a prolific correspondence by mail,
sometimes for years as John found himself away from the farm and his
wife, traveling up and down the coast, or as an ambassador in Europe. At
times each correspondent would have many letters to one another in the
pipeline...with delays sometimes involving months and months. Who says
"timing is everything?" (-: They appear to have maintained an
extraordinarily close, intimate, and supportive relationship in spite of
all that.

Both John and Abigail shared similar experiences of delay. Part of what
we experience in our asynchronous correspondence on lists like this is
the effect of delay which is polychronic. Julie receives her OS messages
almost immediately when sent -- and much of the year she checks her
email regularly.  I take most of my lists in digest formats (another
form of volume management), and just returned from being away several
days. On lists and in other formats, we experience different levels of
delay.

It's interesting to me to consider the effects of delay, for example,
experienced during the interval of the American Revolution and before
introduction of regular mail services and the telegraph.  During the War
of 1812, for example, the war between the US and England officially
ended with the Peace treaty of Ghent, signed in Europe in December,
1814.  British troops in New Orleans failed to get the message, however.
Thus, the Battle of New Orleans resulted, January 1815, involving more
than 2000 casualties.

Clarity

I note also, that one's physical presence does not necessarily impart
clarity.  We often physically may be there, but mentally somewhere else,
for example.  Particularly in cross-cultural settings, pragmatic failure
in face-to-face (F2F) communication by body language is common. In my
experience, pragmatic failure in email correspondences is no less
common.


>
> Presupposition 2 - Human beings are animals
>
> (they can see the others, the others' movements; feel the warmth of
> others, interpret many signals that we transmit to each other  - as
> the other animals do to each other of the same species).
>

Variety

I love Chris's observation of relationships beginning in this hugely
abstract world conveyed by email, then moving to F2F.  This in contrast
to our common experience of beginning with F2F communication, then
moving to deeper realms, say, by correspondence.

Of course, there is a long history of relationships begun first by
correspondence, although it would not surprise me that in total numbers
this pattern has increased partly due to the internet's versatility and
increasingly common accessibility. I think in the past, however, as now,
many of our best relationships have been and are supported by a variety
of modalities and sequences.

Quality

I take from some of Artur's observations that quality of interaction is
important, regardless of the medium.

Heidi, myself, and our two young grrls spent the four-day weekend
dancing to live music with friends -- contra dancing, mostly, with some
swing and Cajun. In that context, the importance of body language cannot
be overstated. (-:  That was a true quality experience, and wonderfully
uplifting.  If only we all could regularly could experience the
beautiful physical and emotional intimacy, creativity, and expression to
the extent 150 of us were able to achieve this last weekend.

[snip]

Artur concluded:
>
>
> PS: As Wurman once wrote, in the information age the main problem of
any
> person is information anxiety, information overload, shat sometimes is
> called "infoxitation". We need tools that help us avoid infoxication.
>

Chris responded:
>>
We have those tools I think:  the delete key, the on/off switch and two
feet.  Use
them wisely and one never gets overwhelmed online.
<<

In addition, I find filters, digests, and, as Chris implies, being able
simply to let go of some threads and lists for some intervals, helps me
handle more volume in less time than most people I know around here.

Quality helps. I leave environments with consistently low signal to
noise levels. Sometimes I'll check back.  Sometimes not.  Quality
referrals to information pieces and sources are often an excellent
antidote to infoxitation. <g>  I always appreciate referrals and
personal sharings.

It is interesting for me to compare in my mind the OST list with other
lists, formats, communities, sources. I'd be interested in others'
experiences along these lines.

Creativity

I love Joelle Everett's husband Paul's observation about creativity.
Yes!  And not only that creativity can cancel effects of age; I see also
in creativity our most important opportunity space (OS).

Grins,

Dan Chay
- --

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