"Matthew Probert - The Mechanics of Human Conversation" - читать интересную книгу автора (Probert Matthew)

THE MECHANICS OF HUMAN CONVERSATION



Matthew Probert



GENERAL OVERVIEW:


Conversation is the continual reaction to the receipt of language based
stimuli by a subject. These language stimuli may take the form of: spoken
words and sounds such as normally associated with conversation; written words
and symbols in teletype and computer based communication; body language as
with the movements and symbols created with the body.

Upon receipt of symbols and sounds the subject's perception processes
recognise these as "language", although they may not have been intended as
such and this is an important point. It is important to realise that a subject
when in an interactive situation with another subject is continually receiving
visual, auditory and tactile signs from the other subject. These signs are
continually being processed by the perception process and a guess is made as
to their meaning. This guess is rarely accurate.

The guessing process is comprised of two indistinct phases:

1) A very quick, spontaneous response system very quickly searches a sub-
set memory store for matching words/phrases. Such as the reaction to signs
that are believed to be greetings. A subject receives the sign "hello" and
responds immediately with the appropriate response, in England that might
be a reciprocal "hello" back to the originator.

2) A slow, considered analytic search of the subject's entire memory store
takes place even while the first phase is occuring. This analysis or
"thinking" process helps to improve the accuracy of the guess made as to
the meaning of the received sign. Upon receipt of new signs, this process
may wander to analyse a new sign or may simply give-up and work on
something else or lie dormant.

Before a response can be made or an action taken, the details of the response
or action must be formulated within the mind. This formulation takes place in
an area I call the "response holding area". This area is in turn fed by an
area of dynamic short-term memory that holds a small amount of data related to
the last conversation piece.

To react the subject retrieves from the response holding area the response and
may or may not analyse this proposed response before either putting it into
action, or discounting it and attempting to formulate a new course of action.