Rhythm in Communication LO23649

Barry Mallis (bmallis@markem.com)
Thu, 16 Dec 1999 15:05:21 -0500

Replying to LO23634 --

Bruno:

Earthquakes cause by slipping faults or overriding plate sections generate
rhythms on the seismograph. this one example supports your thought that
rhythm (as in discernable wave patterns) is a result of the more basic,
lower abstraction, movement. But that's dehumanizes one aspect of the
idea.

I am seated on the ground beneath a small spruce tree, leaning against its
trunk. A passing downpour has soaked me, and I'm awaiting the sudden
storm's passage. The sun is already shining on close-by fields. From this
young tree, water droplets fall from a series a branches and perform a
percussive dance in a puddle the size of one's hand atop the sandy soil.
The rhythm changes, speeds and slows. But most importantly, it captures my
attention. I am captured by something intuitive, I think.

Sounds of metal drums, a pencil point on a desktop, the gamelan, a sea
wave receding from the shore through myriad shells, train wheels on
traditional metal rails, distant rolling thunder. And on and on. These
produce rhythms which, because of our backgrounds-of-obviousness, generate
more, much more, that a simple concept of study.

I agree--movement is absorbing, fascinating. I say that the other side of
the same coin contains the imprint of rhythm as an evocation, where
movement is not necessarily a primary player.

I recently bought my love a wind chime. In the place where I first heard
it, the slowing rhythm of the deep sounds sent a chill through my spine.
Perhaps time stood still, in contradiction of our hypotheses about the
physical world. Positively Cartesian: Rhythm stops time, because my human
feelings will it so.

Yes, most of the time it pays to move in slower rhythm than faster rhythm
when communicating. But you know, they say that we are capable of hearing
about 350-500 words per minute, whereas most speakers, esp. to audiences,
go at a much slower pace. No wonder we doze.

For more information about Information Mapping, go to the website
www.infomap.com.

Feliz Navidad, Prospero Ano y Felididad

Barry

-- 
Barry Mallis, Manager - Training and Development
MARKEM Corporation
www.markem.com  |  email: bmallis@markem.com
voice: 603 357-4255 ext. 2578 | FAX: 603 352-0525

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