Comments on: The Tragedy of Wiio’s Law

By: When a failure to communicate happens, when is it the sender's fault, and when is it the receiver's fault? - Quora

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 22:08:45 +0000

[...] fails, except by accident. As you might expect, I've written a long-winded post about it.http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/0…I don't think you can ever really assign blame for communication failures, unless there is [...]

By: Sister Y

Sister Y — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 20:12:45 +0000

Contracted sexual relations, as you use the term, are legible – e.g., monogamous cohabitation, “dating” with monogamous cohabitation in mind as a mutual goal, and prostitution.

But there exist uncontracted-but-sexual relations that are much less legible. Fans of such arrangements suffer from some of the same concerns you identify in your most recent post (“On being an illegible person”) – it’s hard to explain; there aren’t words to encapsulate it, at least words that give the full story. In my experience, these kinds of illegible relationships are highly correlated with mind-meld and “game-break” moments, in part because “illegible relationship partners” are not in direct competition with one another the way contracted sex partners are.

By: John the Savage

John the Savage — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 22:55:48 +0000

I have certainly known moments like these.

By: On Random Networking and Social Filte... by Anon User - Quora

On Random Networking and Social Filte... by Anon User - Quora — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:37:59 +0000

[...] about this a while back in a rather pensive post called "The Tragedy of Wiio's Law" http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/0…(the piece attracted the unwelcome a deranged stalker among others, but I still stand by it [...]

By: What's the secret to making a few good friends? - Quora

What's the secret to making a few good friends? - Quora — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 03:46:25 +0000

[...] [...]

By: RG

RG — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:06:53 +0000

Reminiscing on connections and journeys, here are a couple of powerful lines from old Hindi movie songs:

Kadmon ke nishaan khud hi
Manzil ka pataa honge

roughly translated as:
Footprints themselves
Indicate the destination

(from the Rafi song starting, “Sau baar janam lenge” from ‘Ustadon Ke Ustad’)

Kabhi yeh bhi socha ke manzil kahaan hai
Bade se jahaan mein tera ghar kahaan hai

roughly translated as:
Have you thought what is your destination;
And in this big world which is your home?

(from the Rafi song starting, “Kahaan ja raha hai” from ‘Seema’)

For me, this line meant a concept of ‘home’ hinted to not necessarily be the house you grew up in, along the same lines of Richard Bach’s quote above.

By: Manju

Manju — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:06:14 +0000

Dear VGR,

Game-Break & connections – strange afflictions these . Enjoyed reading the “analysis” side of it. It is almost incmprehensible because we made so many friends during those long train journeys half-way through the country, and never met them again!

“Raah pe rehte hain
Yaadon pe basar karte hain
khush raho aehley watan
hum to safar karte hain”…

Thanks nevertheless!

By: Venkat

Venkat — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 14:23:10 +0000

Hmm… Bach gets a little too mystical about it for my tastes, but yes, I see what you are getting at. I read ‘illusions’ so long ago, I’ve forgotten the gist…

The line about family is a good one. Nominal families create a lot of rituals to avoid having to face that truth…

By: RG

RG — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:57:54 +0000

Your musings on the concept of game-break and genuine connections reminded me of Richard Bach’s statements (in his book, ‘Illusions’ I think):

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood… Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.