The Cult of Paranoia
Misunderstandings and Fear in Online Communications20 total reviews
Comment from Karen Cherry Threadgill
You used my favorite example on always using correct punctuation. It's time to eat, Grandma. Or my favorite headline, a very dim bulb wrote this one, " Sources say, if the strike doesn't end quickly, it may last a while." We see odd things everday. A great deal of the time we gloss over the mistakes, as natural. I wish teachers had the time and permission to teach these days. And, I think having computers, pads, anything battery or electrical should not be allowed in Elementary school.
I think in my many years of vaulted wisdom, That crayolas, pencils with erasers, books you hold with wonder and reverance in your hand, are magic and help you grow. I read an average of 3 books a week, but I have no day job. I am an invalid. I sure miss work. Good writing. Karen
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
  |
You used my favorite example on always using correct punctuation. It's time to eat, Grandma. Or my favorite headline, a very dim bulb wrote this one, " Sources say, if the strike doesn't end quickly, it may last a while." We see odd things everday. A great deal of the time we gloss over the mistakes, as natural. I wish teachers had the time and permission to teach these days. And, I think having computers, pads, anything battery or electrical should not be allowed in Elementary school.
I think in my many years of vaulted wisdom, That crayolas, pencils with erasers, books you hold with wonder and reverance in your hand, are magic and help you grow. I read an average of 3 books a week, but I have no day job. I am an invalid. I sure miss work. Good writing. Karen
Comment Written 24-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
-
Thank you, Karen! 😊
-
:-)
Comment from Julie Helms
This is an excellent analysis of the mines and pitfalls of online communication. Some of the information I have thought through before and some never really occurred to me.
I really like how you compare this to the brain's absolutely essential ability to fill in the gap or find the pattern. Imagine if we saw a venomous snake peeking around the corner and said "No biggie, it's only half a snake."
But the flip side of that coin, as you so eloquently point out, is filling in a gap incorrectly. The whole 'making assumptions' thing. It isn't wrong....it keeps us alive in certain cases, but should be examined more carefully in your context of online communication.
"Messenger," or "Telephone,"
(We called this "Whisper Down the Lane" in Girl Scouts. Great game!)
"If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?"
( I just heard one like this yesterday. Lola by the Kinks. "I'm glad I'm a man, and so is Lola.")
A fantastic article, Patrick. I hope people will take the time to read through and process it. Mull on it. :-)
Julie
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
 |
This is an excellent analysis of the mines and pitfalls of online communication. Some of the information I have thought through before and some never really occurred to me.
I really like how you compare this to the brain's absolutely essential ability to fill in the gap or find the pattern. Imagine if we saw a venomous snake peeking around the corner and said "No biggie, it's only half a snake."
But the flip side of that coin, as you so eloquently point out, is filling in a gap incorrectly. The whole 'making assumptions' thing. It isn't wrong....it keeps us alive in certain cases, but should be examined more carefully in your context of online communication.
"Messenger," or "Telephone,"
(We called this "Whisper Down the Lane" in Girl Scouts. Great game!)
"If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?"
( I just heard one like this yesterday. Lola by the Kinks. "I'm glad I'm a man, and so is Lola.")
A fantastic article, Patrick. I hope people will take the time to read through and process it. Mull on it. :-)
Julie
Comment Written 23-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
-
Hi Julie! Thank you for your awesome review! No errors? Yay!
Comment from DonandVicki
I can tell that you put a lot of thought, work and research into this essay. We have no idea how someone is going to respond to what we ask or comment on. A thought-provoking work.
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
|
I can tell that you put a lot of thought, work and research into this essay. We have no idea how someone is going to respond to what we ask or comment on. A thought-provoking work.
Comment Written 23-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
-
I appreciate your review and comments! Have a great weekend! 😊
Comment from Liz O'Neill
This has a great important theme. Too many people are vulnerable online in social media they set themselves up for great hurt. Some are actually vulnerable to predators.
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
|
This has a great important theme. Too many people are vulnerable online in social media they set themselves up for great hurt. Some are actually vulnerable to predators.
Comment Written 23-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
-
Thank you, Liz! 😊
-
my pleasure
Comment from royowen
I've lived in both realms of 'reality'. So what is truth? Said Pontus Pilate, and really, it doesn't matter what reality one lives in. Being someone who suffered at the hands of indifferent parents, which tends to be the seat of all misunderstanding. It doesn't matter if.a conspiracy's going on or not, it's really always been about how we conduct our own expectations, as long as we live according to how we want to be treated, that's the way it is, in a world piled high with uncaring people, or needy people. It's still about how we play out our own expectations, it's not complicated at all. Beautifully written though, blessings Roy
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
|
I've lived in both realms of 'reality'. So what is truth? Said Pontus Pilate, and really, it doesn't matter what reality one lives in. Being someone who suffered at the hands of indifferent parents, which tends to be the seat of all misunderstanding. It doesn't matter if.a conspiracy's going on or not, it's really always been about how we conduct our own expectations, as long as we live according to how we want to be treated, that's the way it is, in a world piled high with uncaring people, or needy people. It's still about how we play out our own expectations, it's not complicated at all. Beautifully written though, blessings Roy
Comment Written 23-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
-
Thanks Roy! I appreciate your comments, my friend! Have a great weekend! 😊
Comment from Gypsy Blue Rose
An exceptional essay about communication and self worth. When relationships are based on the need for attention and lack of communication the relationship may not survive. The excitement of falling in love, or falling in lust, is intoxicating.
Reviewing in FanStory is based on self promotion, and if you can't afford to promote your poem or prose, your work will probably will not be reviewed.
For some people, negative reviews can be devastating. Some reviewers are cruel and not helpful at all . When I joined fanstory in 2015, I tried many kinds of poetry and prose. I received some horrible reviews. One reviewer told me that my story was at the level of children stories, his example: "see spot run". Writing is not my forte but I am not that bad.
I know I am not good at writing rhymed poetry and a reviewer told me to stick to haiku. It wasn't bad advice but the way she put it was hurtful.
Eventually I found my niche in Japanese poetry and free verse. I don't write too many stories but I write them once in a while to expand my horizons. However, writing Haibun is easy. One thing I enjoy about haiku, is that it's based on imagery and free verse.
I like Rudyard Kipling's quote: "We're all islands shouting lies to each other across seas of misunderstanding." Wonderful visual effect.
When I was younger, I had a hard time receiving job evaluations. They devastated and in many cases I was fired. I couldn't deal with it. It took me a long time to realized that I was not my job, jobs were something I did.
I suffer from bipolar disease and the end of relationships, personal or professional, sent me into long depression episodes and occasional manic episodes. Sometimes, I ended up in mental hospitals.
I agree with you, tone and body language are an important part of communication. I get in trouble assuming what people mean.
Your essay made me think about one of my favorite books, "The Four Agreements" - by Don Miguel Ruiz.
These agreements are: 1) Use your words impeccably. 2) Don't take anything personally. 3) Don't make assumptions. 4) Always do your best.
Something else that came to mind, is the teachings of ThÃch Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher. He teaches about effective communication with peace in mind.
I'm Spanish, in Spain, ignoring someone is the worse insult you could do.
Paying full attention to people is the best gift you can give. Sometimes, I sit my grandson on my knees and tell him what I really love about him. His eyes light up and makes him smile. He likes playing video, but he wants me to watch him play.
Online communication is hard for all the things you wrote about. You can't see the body language, hear the tone of voice, or tell the circumstantial context.
Thank you for the elements of social appearance preparation. It's very important information and you explained it so well.
I agree, it's easy to put people in a box and judge them by the way they look. A phrase comes to mind, "you can't judge a book by it's cover". I know you are a Nightwish fan, I enjoy many different kinds of music but one band comes to mind, The Grateful Dead. I know people associate the band with drugs and hippies.
One of my favorite movies, is "the Joker" - with Joaqun Phoenix. The movie does a great job at showing the Joker's character development from an insecure victim of the lack of social programs for people with mental problems, to his transformation into a psychopath with a sexy self assurance. It was sexy. I don't know if I explain it well.
You show how commas are important with a funny example: "It's time to eat, Grandma" or "It's time to eat Grandma" hahaha
Well done, Patrick, you put a lot of time and effort with your essay and I love it.
Gypsy
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
|
An exceptional essay about communication and self worth. When relationships are based on the need for attention and lack of communication the relationship may not survive. The excitement of falling in love, or falling in lust, is intoxicating.
Reviewing in FanStory is based on self promotion, and if you can't afford to promote your poem or prose, your work will probably will not be reviewed.
For some people, negative reviews can be devastating. Some reviewers are cruel and not helpful at all . When I joined fanstory in 2015, I tried many kinds of poetry and prose. I received some horrible reviews. One reviewer told me that my story was at the level of children stories, his example: "see spot run". Writing is not my forte but I am not that bad.
I know I am not good at writing rhymed poetry and a reviewer told me to stick to haiku. It wasn't bad advice but the way she put it was hurtful.
Eventually I found my niche in Japanese poetry and free verse. I don't write too many stories but I write them once in a while to expand my horizons. However, writing Haibun is easy. One thing I enjoy about haiku, is that it's based on imagery and free verse.
I like Rudyard Kipling's quote: "We're all islands shouting lies to each other across seas of misunderstanding." Wonderful visual effect.
When I was younger, I had a hard time receiving job evaluations. They devastated and in many cases I was fired. I couldn't deal with it. It took me a long time to realized that I was not my job, jobs were something I did.
I suffer from bipolar disease and the end of relationships, personal or professional, sent me into long depression episodes and occasional manic episodes. Sometimes, I ended up in mental hospitals.
I agree with you, tone and body language are an important part of communication. I get in trouble assuming what people mean.
Your essay made me think about one of my favorite books, "The Four Agreements" - by Don Miguel Ruiz.
These agreements are: 1) Use your words impeccably. 2) Don't take anything personally. 3) Don't make assumptions. 4) Always do your best.
Something else that came to mind, is the teachings of ThÃch Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher. He teaches about effective communication with peace in mind.
I'm Spanish, in Spain, ignoring someone is the worse insult you could do.
Paying full attention to people is the best gift you can give. Sometimes, I sit my grandson on my knees and tell him what I really love about him. His eyes light up and makes him smile. He likes playing video, but he wants me to watch him play.
Online communication is hard for all the things you wrote about. You can't see the body language, hear the tone of voice, or tell the circumstantial context.
Thank you for the elements of social appearance preparation. It's very important information and you explained it so well.
I agree, it's easy to put people in a box and judge them by the way they look. A phrase comes to mind, "you can't judge a book by it's cover". I know you are a Nightwish fan, I enjoy many different kinds of music but one band comes to mind, The Grateful Dead. I know people associate the band with drugs and hippies.
One of my favorite movies, is "the Joker" - with Joaqun Phoenix. The movie does a great job at showing the Joker's character development from an insecure victim of the lack of social programs for people with mental problems, to his transformation into a psychopath with a sexy self assurance. It was sexy. I don't know if I explain it well.
You show how commas are important with a funny example: "It's time to eat, Grandma" or "It's time to eat Grandma" hahaha
Well done, Patrick, you put a lot of time and effort with your essay and I love it.
Gypsy
Comment Written 23-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
-
Hi Gypsy!
Thank you for this lengthy review! I really appreciate your insights and the time it took. I enjoyed reading them and learning more about you!
On an unrelated note, I think I may give Haiku a go. I will look for the next opportunity to do so! One question: does it always have to be generally about nature, or can it encompass any subject?
Patrick
-
Hello, Patrick,
You are welcome to join any haiku event that may interest you. I keep it simple. My goal is to share my love for haiku. It's an extraordinary poetic form. Especiallyif you are a visual person.
Classic haiku is about nature. Modern haiku is about any subject you like. Senryu is similar to Haiku but about human nature. In all the haiku events, I add hyperlinks for rules and examples. I'm always available, just send me a message if you have any questions.
Gypsy
Comment from Cecilia A Heiskary
Hi Patrick,
Great essay. It points out some things as human beings we don't give much thought to when we send an email or text. Your title sums up the ideas in the article. I know some people get paranoid when they are waiting for a response an it can be quite stressful. It's also a true statement about the placement of commas. It can mean different things if in the wrong place. I like your example of the news anchor. That was funny.
I must truly say that I am at a point in life where I just don't care what people think of me.
Cecilia
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
|
Hi Patrick,
Great essay. It points out some things as human beings we don't give much thought to when we send an email or text. Your title sums up the ideas in the article. I know some people get paranoid when they are waiting for a response an it can be quite stressful. It's also a true statement about the placement of commas. It can mean different things if in the wrong place. I like your example of the news anchor. That was funny.
I must truly say that I am at a point in life where I just don't care what people think of me.
Cecilia
Comment Written 23-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 25-Oct-2024
-
Hi Cecilia!
I am getting at my replies late, I'm afraid. I know after having read the essay that you thought the best of me while you waited. 🤣 Thanks you for reading and commenting! I appreciate you! 😊
Patrick
-
You are welcome. No worries on the wait. I'm sure you have other things to do on a day to day basis.
Comment from Begin Again
I don't have a six to give you, but it is more than worth it. I'm a survivor, but not because I battled my way through things -- instead, I prefer to see both sides of a story and hope they can figure it out themselves. It's challenging to be on a site that's meant for enjoyment and pleasure yet still butt heads with others. I hope people enjoy what I have to offer, and I will do the same...leaving the battles to someone else.
Smiles, Carol
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
reply by the author on 23-Oct-2024
|
I don't have a six to give you, but it is more than worth it. I'm a survivor, but not because I battled my way through things -- instead, I prefer to see both sides of a story and hope they can figure it out themselves. It's challenging to be on a site that's meant for enjoyment and pleasure yet still butt heads with others. I hope people enjoy what I have to offer, and I will do the same...leaving the battles to someone else.
Smiles, Carol
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
Comment Written 23-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 23-Oct-2024
-
Thank you, Carol! I'm glad you enjoyed the article. I am hoping to get to a review of "The Empty Chair" when I get off work tonight. 😊
Comment from barbara.wilkey
Congratulations on your 50th milestone post. This is a great post to receive it on. This post has a lot of valuable information in it. I've been a member of FanStory since August of 2008. Through the years there's been some scabbling among members and, of course, they've attempted others to take sides. So far, I have been successful on staying out of all of them. I plan to keep my track record clean.
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
reply by the author on 23-Oct-2024
|
Congratulations on your 50th milestone post. This is a great post to receive it on. This post has a lot of valuable information in it. I've been a member of FanStory since August of 2008. Through the years there's been some scabbling among members and, of course, they've attempted others to take sides. So far, I have been successful on staying out of all of them. I plan to keep my track record clean.
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
Comment Written 23-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 23-Oct-2024
-
Thank you, Barbara! Your next review is on my list next. I am hoping to get to it when I get off work this evening. I'm sorry it has taken so long! 😊
-
Not a problem. I understand priorities.
Comment from Marilyn Hamilton
First of all, congratulations of your milestone post number 50! This is something that everyone who spends time online in a community of some kind needs to read. Lots of useful information and ways to make your experience better as you deal with others from a non face-to-face vantage point. Thanks for sharing.
reply by the author on 23-Oct-2024
|
First of all, congratulations of your milestone post number 50! This is something that everyone who spends time online in a community of some kind needs to read. Lots of useful information and ways to make your experience better as you deal with others from a non face-to-face vantage point. Thanks for sharing.
Comment Written 23-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 23-Oct-2024
-
Thank you for the 6-star, Marilyn! 😊