I was telling a visitor from China on Sunday, when we got to Big Ben, about the one occasion another woman and I were waiting for a bus, with her standing in front of me. The bus stop was at the southern end of Westminster Bridge, and Big Ben was at the northern end. Our bus was coming from north of the river, which meant that we were facing north, so Big Ben was in front of us--but not too high up as it was at the other end of the bridge, not directly above us. After a while, when the bus failed to show up, the woman turned round to me and asked, “What’s the time, please?”
My visitor’s immediate response to this story was, “Is she local?” Huh??? What’s that got to do with not seeing a structure directly ahead of you that’s 96.3m/316ft/16 storeys in height??!
Is this a cultural perspective to communications, I wonder? I’d love to hear what theories people can offer for this path of illogical connection in communications. Or is my brain missing a link for bridging that jump?
(London, October 2011)
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