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Old habits on stake |
| We
all know the difference between acting in privacy and in public space,
don't we? While acting in the public, we take into account to be heard
by everybody, friend or foe, known or unfamiliar to us. We will select
our words with care, not to offend listeners with other points of view
(this may be cumbersome). In privacy, the audience is face to face to
us, and we may take it easy. Usually we know the general opinion of our
vis-à-vis, and we will largely reasure each other in our position. |
| To act in privacy has its own quality. We need this mode
of behavior as an indispensable ingredient of our well-being. We humans
are two-channel creatures (at least), and some social mammals and birds
seem to share this feature with us. Crows are able to betray other crows
by hiding food in their view without really doing it, just to use
another place where they are not seen (Bugnyar et al 2016). Humans act similarely all the time. |
| Are
these bad manners? Caring for our closest friends and relatives
in a different way than for the rest: should we be ashamed to do so?
I'm sure, that most of us would rate that as a virtue to be praised.
Intuitively, we always knew that we are two-channel creatures. In
most courts, the testimony of a close relative of the accused is
received with caution. Most lawyers will not insist on such. |
| In
our times, the omnipresence of social media endangers our spontaneous
capability to freely switch between the modes. If we relax at the
Heurigen with friends, but should - at the same time - take into
account the possibility that our conversation is secretly recorded and distributed the next day to a countless
number of ears: who would be able to enjoy such an evening? On the long
run, we would abstain from the beloved habit - with deep regret. |
| In the age of omnipresent social media, it's getting more and more difficult to keep these two
states of human existence apart. This fact seriously threatens our well-being. We shouldn't put up with it.
New technical communication tools entail new conventions. The recording
of relaxed small talk at private venues should generally be greeted
with disdain. Anyone caught in flagranti with such a missdeed will not be invited anymore for the rest of his or her life. |
| 7/26 < MLB (7/26) > 7/26 |
| Th Bugnyar, St A Reber, C Buckner (2016) Ravens attribute visual access to unseen competitors. Nat Communic 7, 10506 |