Today was sunny again and a very pleasant day. Inside the office things were constant from when I arrived to when I left -- several meetings and two classes, with just a few minutes in between to try to get through e-mail messages and plan the work for tomorrow and the weekend. Most things went smoothly with just a few bumps. Miscommunication was at the root of these hiccoughs. While in lecture, I seemed to create confusion when discussing the genetic research that informed our understanding of a hormonal aspect of fat storage in the body. It was only the basics without any in depth scary genetic and metabolic details -- sort of the 'just the facts, ma'am' version <smile>. While I was talking to explain things from the second slide, several hands went up before I had finished. It did show me that they'd missed a key sentence during the transition from one slide to the next. Sadly, trying to backtrack created other confusions. So -- I have decided to go over this again from the start in our next class. Hopefully, the different sentences that come from me will help to clarify the two visuals on the slides. <fingers crossed>
I've spoken of this before here -- miscommunication. Well planned or extemporaneous, our speech can carry very different messages. The speaker may mean one thing, but the words produce a different meaning in the listener. I always maintain that words have power and also connotations can be very different between people. Just like sitting in front of an artwork at a museum, we see very different things. Its a wonder that we ever manage to get any message across! The failure to clearly transfer one's thoughts to others can be very frustrating. I find this can stick with me as I reflect and wonder 'what if I'd said it this way instead' sometimes having the chance to try to fix things and sometimes that opportunity will never surface. When things like this occur, it seems to support the concept of living as a hermit somewhere <smile>.
The selection for today is short and fits one of the miscommunications encountered today. Enjoy!
It's Called Genetics -- original from Bill Nye the Science Guy
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