The problem solving narrative ...

The Intro

I ride the bus to work, currently, for 2 hours each way, twice a day, M-F ...

I'm not complaining, really ... I know there are more people way worse off than me. I can sit here, at the Yardarm Pub (Des Moines, WA), and write and drink my IPA ... sure, I have to meet with a couple of people this afternoon, but I'm not going to get "blotto" ... (probably)

Any who, if you ride the Metro, and you don't have your earphones jammed into your brain case, then you have the opportunity to learn a LOT about people - or, perhaps, about the people they think they are; do we or can we ever know the "real person" by overhearing conversations on a bus? By the clothes? By the expressions and shuffling of feet, and smell ... let's be honest - smell. Big time factor, riding Metro, is smell ...

It seems mean to put things in terms of "smell", but really, we do learn so much - we learn if you're a smoker ... if you're a smoker, then you're a nihilist, who lives by each moment, for its own sake, without regard to meaning, or concern. That's what I think when I smell a smoker ... cuz ... tbh ... I've been a smoker myself at various dark-moments-of-the-soul time periods or phases of my life.

Perfume or a "nice smell" signals "I am awesome, and you SUCK loser!"; this applies to men and women. I don't think I smell bad, but I don't think I smell "nice" either - I try to "not smell". Not smelling or releasing too many odors is a good strategy, I think.

And then there are the overheard conversations ...

It's weird, but much of what I enjoy (sometimes) are the overheard conversations.

Sure, I get annoyed when I hear some "blue badge" (permanent Microsoft employee) talking about their amazing lives, and the money and power ... the sexy lounges they go to in order to smoke their fancy cigarettes that actually REVERSES global warming and crap ... yes ... I don't enjoy listening to these electric car driving folks.

But the pedestrian crap ...

The hoi polloi demographic?

The chumps and rustling mass of afflicted humanity?

Their stories ROCK!

Everyone has a narrative, in that sense

The Girl ...

There was a very attractive young techie riding the bus this week - I've modified my schedule, here and there, based upon the fact that I commute, by Metro, from Des Moines to Bellevue ... it kinda sucks, but really ... the lives of most people on planet Earth suck more than mine ... so the complaining is pointless and off-putting.

But she was/is very beautiful. I don't know her ... she's too young for me ... but ... I can glance.

That being said, I remember the afternoon ride home on Wednesday ...

That trip was fun, because she was dating a co-worker. All of this from overhearing what they were saying - work convos, mixed with "where do you want to eat" ... and ... "I think people really like you on our team" ... and ... "I'm hungry ... but I'm not that hungry ..." (guess the gender)

This is the narrative I guessed:

He was between 34-38 ...

She was between 25-31 ...

He was a lead software tester at a gaming company, she's a lower level game tester, QA type.

This is their first date, and they were both clumsy in their phrasing.

He: "Should we get dinner first?"

She: "I don't know if I'm hungry ... but I feel hungry ... are you hungry?"

He: "I'm kind of hungry ... but ... maybe not 'that' hungry ... ??"

She: "It's like ... we could stop at that new Taco Truck ... off of 7th?"

He: "Totally ... that place rocks ... but ... are you hungry?"

This is how this goes for about 20 minutes of the bus ride ...

Now I know they like tacos.

Bottom line is that their clothes, their smells, their conversations, all revealed much of who they were - perhaps too much, perhaps not enough, and who's to say?

Conclusion

I think, in many ways, storytelling is how we share big ideas - not always, but often. Humans love a good story, and get bored, quickly, with terrible stories ... the ones that suck - not mine of course.

Sure, I could say, as a software engineer, that ideas are often shared by the "code", the documentation (what there might be, which is more often than not scant to none) ... but the powerful conversations you have as software engineers, bus drivers, people dating, strangers on a train ... it is when you share the big ideas, concepts, hidden patterns, via the power of the story or narrative.

We weave these tales, even when we're "testifying to the truth", BECAUSE it is how we share information. We make information exciting, connected, important, and thereby enhance memory retention. Sure, we could communicate in pure logic, math, sentences devoid of any ambiguity ... the problem is, this world is immersed in ambiguity. The narrative captures this, and by capturing it allows us to transcend the limits of language.

Via the narrative, we share "thought experiments" that the other, the listener, can test against their own experience ...

So yes - I believe the most important, most meaningful stuff, we learn in this life, is shared in the format of the story.

It doesn't mean we're lying - perhaps the opposite ... even the "liar" gives himself (or herself) away if they talk too much and tell a story. In some ways, the narrative is a subtle lie detector - the story gives us generalized patterns against which our minds, at deep levels, can "check the story".

Any who ...

This is what I learned on a bus, this last week.