communication – Page 2 – Random Thoughts

Can You Have Too Much Knowledge?

I have Mitch Mitchell of ImJustSharing and his comments on a Wayback Whensday post to thank for the inspiration for this post. We were discussing caffeine in beverages. He asked a question about where caffeine comes from. It was a perfectly legitimate question and related to the topic of discussion, so I answered it. Before posting, I (like any responsible journalist would) checked my stated facts for accuracy and turned up an additional historical tid-bit or two, so I worked those in as well.

Mitch’s response to my reply indicated pleasure, and perhaps some surprise, with the quality of my answer. And I wondered why. What made this comment so different from dozens of others Mitch and I have exchanged in the past? After all, I’m a well-read, educated fellow. My head is crammed full of useful knowledge – and a fair bit of useless fluff that sneaks in. Why would he be surprised to receive a well-considered response from me? I pondered that for a while. When I awoke, I realized it’s because it has not been the type of response I’ve been posting. For that I blame Chuck… at least in part. Continue reading “Can You Have Too Much Knowledge?”

Pride and Prejudice in Family Communications

This, Dear Reader is a tale of disaster averted. I will use an episode in my relationship with my wife to illustrate how a little consideration before communication can avert an extended stay in the dog house. The Old Saying for this week: “Make sure the brain is in gear before engaging the mouth.”

Gender Bias

Gender symbols communication Even in our “enlightened” times where traditional roles and expectations for males and females are being rewritten, we often find that certain things are – generally speaking – reserved as hallowed ground for one gender or the other. For instance; household roles of lawn mowing, auto mechanics and operation of a large barbeque grill are almost always reserved for the family member with the highest levels of testosterone coursing through their veins, and that is usually – not always, but usually – the alpha male, Big Daddy, The Man. This is especially true if this alpha male has a long history with the particular task in question.

Frictions can arise in situations where the non-dominant gender in any arena should challenge the dominant gender of that arena. For instance, should the alpha male attempt to enlighten the pack’s females on the proper fitting of a brassiere, without being an underwear engineer with a PHD in lingerie construction, hackles will rise and fur will fly.

However, sometimes it is better, when these things come up, to set aside the base instinct reaction and employ a more reasoned response. Continue reading “Pride and Prejudice in Family Communications”

The Next Big Thing in Microchips

There has been a considerable amount of talk, speculation and fear-mongering going on about the next big leap in personal information and records keeping, namely: microchipping.

Recently I’ve read articles, watched clips of talk shows and seen many YouTube videos on the subject of placing microchips in people. Some say it’s a great idea, some have concerns over privacy, and some are yelling “Mark of the Beast” and quoting scripture.^[1]

Microchips in Pets

As a pet owner I have been, and continue to be, a proponent of having pets chipped: this vastly improves the chances or your pet being returned to you if they somehow get away from you and lose their collar or tags.

These chips store a 12 to 16 character alpha-numeric code. That’s all. When a scanner triggers the microchip, it transmits its code and the signal can be read for a distance of up to 10 centimeters (about 4 inches). The veterinarian or animal shelter then uses the code shown on the scanner to query a database^[2] over the internet which returns the name, address and phone number of the animal’s registered owner. But why chip people?

Continue reading “The Next Big Thing in Microchips”

Thou Shalt Not Whine: The Eleventh Commandment?

If God had inscribed an 11^th commandment, it might well have been, “Thou shalt not whine.“

Two Kinds of People

happy face sad faces

Motivational author Keith Cameron Smith says that there are two kinds of people: winners and whiners and they are easy to tell apart: winners brighten a room when they enter it, whiners brighten a room when they leave it. Continue reading “Thou Shalt Not Whine: The Eleventh Commandment?”

WONDERFUL WORDS OF LIFE

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to have actually heard Jesus speak? What kind of voice did He have? Did it have a strong tone of authority or was it mellowed with comfort and reassurance? Have you ever secretly articulated statements of Jesus in the way you think He might have said them? We are grateful indeed for the eyewitnesses who have preserved for us a collection of His words. To study these words of Jesus is to catch something of the spirit and thrust of His ministry. The kinds of words He used and the arrangement of them suggest that the mood of His speaking was always that of love.

Whether it was the cutting words of “Get thee behind me, Satan” or the quiet invitation of “Come unto me”, the character of love was always present. From the sermon on the mount to the sayings on the cross Jesus used words to reveal the heart of God. With prophetic authority He used words to curse the barren fig tree and to chastise the Temple merchants. With healing power He used words to castigate the demonic and restore health to the crippled and unclean. With instructive skill He used words to preach His sermons for the multitudes and give private lessons for individuals facing personal disaster.

With compassion and insight He used words to probe the motives of all who came to Him and to offer them the truth which would set them free. With prayerful anticipation He used words to communicate with the Heavenly Father and to bless those who struggled to find the Father’s will.

With compelling urgency He uses words to commission and empower us for world missions. His words of old motivated by compassion for the people of His day span the centuries to become words of love for us today. As we hear let us hide His words in our hearts that we may not sin against God. In so doing may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in God’s sight.

Opinions Are Like Bellybuttons

This article will once again begin by digging into my bottomless barrel of Old Sayings; the offering this time:
“Opinions are like bellybuttons; everyone has one, but some are more worthy of public display than others.”

bellybutton I am, I must confess Dear Reader, one of those people who has an opinion on just about everything and feels compelled to share it. Oh, you too? Fancy that! It is a great thing when our opinions about something mesh and we can celebrate or commiserate the topic together. But what happens when we disagree?

All too often opposing opinions result in arguments, fist fights, even wars being fought. And why? Because the parties held differing opinions? Life is so much simpler if we can avoid open hostilities in our dealings with others.

Why is it that we hold so tightly to our own opinions as indisputable truth, and yet the opinions of others are mere fancy? Why do people HAVE differing opinions in the first place? If something is true for me, it’s true for you too, isn’t it? Not at all! Continue reading “Opinions Are Like Bellybuttons”

Blue-Gray Matter and Pink-Gray Matter in Communication

couple sulking, communication, argument — © Lisavan | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Effective communication between men and women has always been a issue of contention. Let’s look at why that is.

In the 1960’s what is now called Second Wave Feminism began to build up steam as it tried to tell the world that men and women are – apart from some reproductive organs – identical. This movement took up the mantra of the First Wave Feminists, which began in the 15^th century, that women should have rights and opportunities equal to men. And indeed they should and great strides have been made on that front.

The second wave added the ideology that men and women think just alike. In the 1970’s gender neutrality became a big issue, and has had major repercussions in our society ever since. Aside from divergent physiology, says this theory, a woman is simply a man with a keenly honed fashion sense, and conversely, a man is just a woman who can’t dance and refuses to dust. Continue reading “Blue-Gray Matter and Pink-Gray Matter in Communication”

Prattle: Wireless Blondie

I went down to check on my Mom this morning. She lives in her own house on the property my wife and I own and live on. It’s a whole lot more convenient to look in on her and help her out when she’s living a couple hundred feet away than when she was in Nebraska. Normally I drop in on her mid-day with the mail, today I needed to follow up on yesterday’s excitement, so I went down first thing this morning. Continue reading “Prattle: Wireless Blondie”

A Whisper or a Brick – Communicating with God

Last night Marie was coming home with a pick-up truck load of groceries. It was late, it had been a busy day for both of us and she knew I was tired too; lugging a weeks worth of groceries up to our house from the workshop was not something I would be looking forward to. She reached over and pressed the Four Wheel High button on the dash – and it ENGAGED! This was a great surprise since it had been fluky for a while, working sometimes, not working at others, but mostly not. She happily swung into our driveway and came crawling up the steep gravel grade. I was working at the computer in our dining area, the windows of which look out over our driveway and I wondered who had gotten lost – I sure wasn’t expecting it to be Marie! Continue reading

Listening Ears

Communication is one of life’s most necessary events. The ability to convey our thoughts to another person and to receive their thoughts as well is indeed a blessing. Words, whether written or spoken, become the vehicle by which we express what is on our minds.

Words beautifully arranged in perfect composition or in eloquent speech, however, do not necessarily mean communication has occurred. We may write or say what we really mean, but unless the one reading or listening is on the same frequency we may not accurately communicate. Words sometimes fail us because of the human tendency to misunderstand. How frustrating when our best attempts to communicate are misinterpreted. Good communication occurs when we work hard at giving and receiving the same signals.

It is not always other people’s fault when they misunderstand what we think is clear speech. We may need to sit where they sit and listen with their ears to what we are saying. Seeking to understand another’s misunderstanding is one of life’s most loving expressions. We all have an emotional as well as a mental vocabulary. Some words have an emotional meaning which is not found in the dictionary. The cultural and psychological circumstances which birthed us have a lot to do with what we hear and what we say. To grasp this reality is an aid to good communication. Continue reading “Listening Ears”