The Real Division According to Trueman

This is something I saw gradually increasing to the point to make it annoying. I'm sure there is other people here in ATS that noticed it too. It's weird.

Let's say a person starts a conversation about a car, after exchanging ideas about it, you ask this person certain details, something like "and what year is the car ?"

The person answers "what car ?".

Then you answer : "the car we were talking for 10 minutes".

Then the person says : "oh yes, it's a 2011".

It's like a massive micro-ADHD episode. Then the person continue talking and listening like nothing happened. Telling this person about the "brain fog"
triggers anger and aggressive response.

It's getting harder to communicate with people in general and sometimes all ends with bad pointless discussion. The number of people with this anomaly is rapidly increasing now.

I noticed a pattern on the behavior and preferences in these persons. I think this started years before the virus. Maybe social media has to do with it or it is just channeling and enhancing the tendency.

Then you just feel frustration and not willing to share your thoughts anymore. I'm afraid this is how people really get divided beyond racism or political views.

As a Christian, this strikes me and made me think about what Jesus said.

Matthew 10:34-39

34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.

37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

I'm curious about what sort of mind-altering alkaloids were in the diet of all of them folks back then.
Being screwy in the head seems to have been par for the course.
The more things change, the more they seem the same.

More and more, I'm seeing people acting as you've described. It's strange. One theory I have is that some people have trouble dealing with all the "noise" we see and hear 24\7. Many people have trouble focusing and concentrating to begin with.
Add a smartphone, twiiter, instagram, etc, etc. They're confused.

Oddly (perhaps), I live in Mexico and I really have not seen this phenomenon.

My Spanish is quite good - I often get compliments from native speakers - but there are occasions when due to accents or a particularly rapid speaker I miss certain details in a conversation or have to ask someone to repeat something, but it's due to a minor language barrier. But I probably come across sometimes like this to Mexicans.

I'm glad to see you guys noticed it too.

I believe it won't stop. We need to think how to deal with that individually.

originally posted by: incoserv
Oddly (perhaps), I live in Mexico and I really have not seen this phenomenon.

My Spanish is quite good - I often get compliments from native speakers - but there are occasions when due to accents or a particularly rapid speaker I miss certain details in a conversation or have to ask someone to repeat something, but it's due to a minor language barrier. But I probably come across sometimes like this to Mexicans.

It has nothing to do with languages. It's like the person experience a "lag" and needs a recap of the last few minutes of the conversation.

originally posted by: incoserv
Oddly (perhaps), I live in Mexico and I really have not seen this phenomenon.

My Spanish is quite good - I often get compliments from native speakers - but there are occasions when due to accents or a particularly rapid speaker I miss certain details in a conversation or have to ask someone to repeat something, but it's due to a minor language barrier. But I probably come across sometimes like this to Mexicans.

I can read and comprende the Espanol, but I get lost when they do the machine-gun syllables.
And I grew up on the Southern border.
I had a friend from Panama.
She told me I sound like Tarzan when I speak Espanol.

From my own experience only so take it with a grain of salt, but cognitive problems can be associated with highly processed foods, not enough sleep and not enough exercise. Can cause lack of concentration and mood swings, depression and general apathy. TextTexta reply to: Trueman

(That was me for 15 years or so)

originally posted by: kingparrot
From my own experience only so take it with a grain of salt, but cognitive problems can be associated with highly processed foods, not enough sleep and not enough exercise. Can cause lack of concentration and mood swings, depression and general apathy. TextTexta reply to: Trueman

(That was me for 15 years or so)

What about an specific type of radiation ?

Those passages from the bible are only a few of the reasons I do not follow the bible. If that's what it takes to be accepted by Jesus, he can go jump in a lake. Let's see if he can really walk on it. I'll take my family over Jesus and his sword any day.

Certainly I wouldn’t be surprised if all the white noise around us could effect some people. Just the amount of information which we have available to us could certainly be a distraction. Im sure there would of been many studies into it by now.
From my own experience though, eating right, seven hours of sleep and regular exercise turned my life around. Helped with so many aspects, communication, focus and improved inter personal relationships were some of the more rewarding benefits to a ‘healthier’ style of living.
Healthy body healthy mind worked for me anyways.

a reply to: Trueman

Also perhaps a lot of people are so caught up in there own belief systems these days, they aren’t prepared to consider someone else’s. That could prohibit people’s ability to listen attentively to a conversation because they are to busy concentrating on their own issues. It seems often people have already decided what they’re going to say about a certain issue no matter what the context of the conversation is. a reply to: Trueman

originally posted by: TerryMcGuire
Those passages from the bible are only a few of the reasons I do not follow the bible. If that's what it takes to be accepted by Jesus, he can go jump in a lake. Let's see if he can really walk on it. I'll take my family over Jesus and his sword any day.

I quoted the Bible because this anomaly made me remember it.

The thread is not about the Bible.

originally posted by: kingparrot
Also perhaps a lot of people are so caught up in there own belief systems these days, they aren’t prepared to consider someone else’s. That could prohibit people’s ability to listen attentively to a conversation because they are to busy concentrating on their own issues. It seems often people have already decided what they’re going to say about a certain issue no matter what the context of the conversation is. a reply to: Trueman

That's a good point. I see very often how people interrupt the other person during a conversation before the message is delivered. It's not just bad manners, it's more like not letting the other person "win". Conversations became competitions.

Also noticed you have to explain something you explained a day or just hours before, the face expression and the eyes of that person shows he/she can't answer why.

a reply to: Trueman

Like what you and Kingparrot have said. You may be talking to a person, but they may not be actively engaged and just saying things that are somewhat relevant while thinking about something else. They may not be present. The getting angry when being question is an indication of insecurity. People don't like being asked questions. It puts them on the spot, and sort of forces them to respond. The one asking questions can be seen as the one who is in a position of power.

People may take being questioned overly personal. When asked a question they don't know how to answer they may feel like their status or whatever is being threatened. If they answer inaccurately they know they will look foolish.

a reply to: AutomateThis1v2

Yes. And it wasn't like that or at least not in that magnitude.

We used to say communication is the key for a good relationship.

Now we have problems when we communicate.

It's an irony if you consider all the methods and devices available today.

Yep, a lot of people don’t like to talk on the phone anymore, they prefer text. Im guessing that’s because it allows them to reply on their terms, at a time and a rate which suits them. Not just more time to prepare an answer, just more control in general. And less personal as well….
a reply to: Trueman

originally posted by: kingparrot
Yep, a lot of people don’t like to talk on the phone anymore, they prefer text. Im guessing that’s because it allows them to reply on their terms, at a time and a rate which suits them. Not just more time to prepare an answer, just more control in general. And less personal as well….
a reply to: Trueman

Texting also gives people the ability to tell lies without looking to the eyes.

a reply to: Trueman

Very odd you bring this up. I have noticed this very same commuication "fault" for some time now and it seems to affect all ages. Conversation has become near impossible with a lot of people and yes, it is like an ADHD moment. I honestly dont know what to make of it, but verbal communication is getting ever more tough and in some cases, down right pointless.

I am also amazed at my individual response to this phenomenon. Increasingly, I simply don't say anything at all to much of anyone. And I have also noticed the quantum of slilence of others is rising as well. We had a church committess meeting yesterday; one guy presented the agenda and addressed the items on it. No one in the room responded. Votes were taken by show of hands, and other than the usual exchange of pleasantries, nothing of substance was discussed.

Have to wonder if this is somehow related to the long period of COVID isolation.

a reply to: Trueman

My apologies for drifting from your intent but it seemed pretty clear at the time that by announcing that you are a Christian and then quoting the bible, chapter and verse, twice, you yourself were aiming the OP in that direction. So, sorry.

In trying to attune my observations more to the earlier part of your topic I can say that , yes, I have noticed this as well. Though in my case I began noticing it decades ago in a lot of social gatherings, especially when there were numerous people involved in one way or another in a conversation.

What I came up with was that conversations morph in many cases. One person talking about a topic and other listening. Another person picks up the conversation and caries it on based at times on not the specific topic begun by the first person but an associated topic. Often no one notices because it appears to be a continuation of the original topic.

This is often exacerbated by the use of examples derived from and made to clarify the original point. Examples are made in case the original point might be only vaguely described. Often the examples a clearer but at the same time are also examples of something else entirely.

A perfect example of this is this very thread. You began about one specific, though vague, topic. Then near the end of the OP, which is by most standards the point in a presentation where one sums up the thoughts of the original idea. You segued into that with the announcement of your faith which lead to what was easily assumed to be a summation.

Rather what I took to be a summation was simply more examples of what you were trying to communicate.

What I first noticed long ago was while engaged in social gatherings, though over time I came to notice it in one on ones as well. People sitting around having a good time visiting. Telling jokes and stuff. One person says something funny, an anecdote of sorts and people laugh and it continues. Another person adds to the banter with another funny anecdote and people continue the laughter. This goes on and on and over a short time the whole conversation has moved from one topic to another until that one guy, usually me, finally has a chance to chime in with another joke. But not a joke in sequence in a long line of jokes but rather a joke hearkening back to the original point of funniness. And everyone looks at them, me, and laughs, not at the joke but a me, cuz I had not been following the evolution of the conversation.

I think that this may be the nature of a lot of conversations. Just banter. Just talk about the height of the river which leads to the weather which brings the rain or not which moves to the growing hay that feeds the cows which affects the health of the cows and their market value and the strength of the market in cow meat and milk and the power of the dollar on the world stage to the international competition for American products against other nations products to tariffs to what in the hell are we voting these people into office for any way.

Just banter.

So while you may have thought you were talking about a car for ten minutes, it's likely that the other person was not. They were just talking about, well, banter.

Coming out of the virus it's possible that a lot of people did not have much communication with others. Now that we are socially engaging more than last year it's possible that people just want to talk and share about anything. And everything. Not even needing to hold a conversation steady on one topic. Just bantering and enjoying being around other people again.

I hope that I had redirected my thoughts back to your original intent. Please feel free to pick or chose any portion of my reply as a topic should you wish to carry this on further.