Sometimes two people are talking past each other, and I try to help them understand each other (with varying degrees of success).

It's as if they are looking at the same object, but from different angles. Mostly they see the same thing – most of the words have shared meanings. But some key words and assumptions have a different meaning to them.

Often, I find that one person (call them A) has a perspective that's easier for me to understand. It comes naturally. But B's perspective is initially harder. So if I want to translate from B to A, I first need to understand B.

I remember a time when I sat listening to two people having a conversation, both getting increasingly agitated and repeating the same points without making progress. Four of us were playing a cooperative board game together. The situation was something like…

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First published:
December 17th, 2024

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DPr67dZRtbEDyPfds/trying-to-translate-when-people-talk-past-each-other

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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“Trying to translate when people talk past each other” by Kaj_Sotala

LessWrong (30+ Karma)