Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT: 2485-2489 (8-12 July, 2013)
katsmeat:
I think the whole revealing-why-Dale's-glasses-glow thing could have been handled so much better by skipping 2487 and just having today's comic.
Having 2488 as a follow-on to 2487 makes today's joke feel a bit laboured. Heck, even switching them would work better, though I guess that would preclude tomorrow's somewhat inevitable conference-in-the-lady's-room scene.
billydaking:
--- Quote from: mtmerrick on 10 Jul 2013, 15:48 ---Ok, let's pick some example numbers off a cloud here. Let's say I'm taking to you, and the meaning of a word comes up. I pull out my phone and Google for the definition. I'm still giving 75%+ of my attention to you and our conversation, which to be completely honest I could maintain with 50% or less. I divert the remaining 25% to find the definition of the word.
Who is "wrong" in this situation? Me, for 'being disrespectful' and 'rude' by doing other things already related to our conversation or you, for being so high and mighty that you demand 100% attention focused on you at all times because what you're saying is that world changingly important?
It makes you an ass. It does not make me rude.
And for all you luddites out there, replace 'pull out phone' with 'walk over to the bookshelf and grab a dictionary' - the situation is the same.
--- End quote ---
How about you simply ask me what the meaning of the word is?
The whole point of conversing with someone is to interact with him or her. The minute you pull out a phone, you are disengaging with them, either completely or partly. The person you're speaking with probably doesn't even know why you've suddenly pulled out your phone to go online. Being rude is partially about the impressions you make by your own actions, intentional or not.
And if you suddenly get up, walk over to a bookshelf, and grab a dictionary when somebody's in the middle of talking to you, you are an ass. I'm 40 plus years old, so I lived in an era before cell phones, much less smart phones, and nobody did that. They simply asked, since, hey, we're already talking to each other. Unplug your bedamned self.
I have a friend who just moved to the United States from France, and while she speaks English very well, there are the damnedest spaces in her vocabulary. She never hesitates to ask me when she doesn't understand something, and I never hesitate to stop and ask her when she looks confused. That's what a conversation is...engaging with someone and paying attention to them, rather than only giving them part of your time.
DSL:
I try to put things in context. If I'm talking with someone and something comes up whose meaning we can't determine between us, I don't consider it rude for either of us to say, "let's look it up" and consult whatever's handy. We're still engaging each other.
If, however, you're like a former boss of mine who practiced "air golf swings" in the middle of you trying to talk to him, then yeah, you're an ass, technology or no. Context of that was that he made a point of letting you know, verbally or nonverbally, there was always something more important on his mind.
Mostly I agree with Akima's observation that those who demand the most respect give the least (and my corollary: those who demand the most respect COMmand the least) -- but I also worked in an environment in which it was increasingly true that politeness and the giving of respect was seen as a weakness. Feel free to use the phrase "vicious circle" to describe the situation in which I found myself until I got fed up and gave five seconds notice.
K1dmor:
--- Quote from: mtmerrick on 10 Jul 2013, 15:48 ---Who is "wrong" in this situation? Me, for 'being disrespectful' and 'rude' by doing other things already related to our conversation or you, for being so high and mighty that you demand 100% attention focused on you at all times because what you're saying is that world changingly important?
--- End quote ---
Mad Cat:
Dale asked for that. I mean literally. He verbally asked his glasses to google the information. He can't now complain that it gave him something he didn't want.
And why was safesearch off on his glasses in the first place? Hmmmmm.
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