(Mis)managing the illusion of communication

Abstract:

George Bernard Shaw once said "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." He's got a point: we never really share the "same" language as anybody else - we bring different experiences to any conversation; we have different previous interactions, different cultural backgrounds, and different social communities. This means that mismatches between our takes on a conversation are not the exception, but the norm. The ability to deal with these mismatches on the fly underpins successful communication. In this talk, I will look at some ways that the same resources that we need in order to resolve mismatches on the fly (huh?) can be exploited for humour, confrontation, or deceit.

Research areas:

• DivCon

Year:

2025

Type of Publication:

Misc

How published:

Invited talk for "Science and Improv"