Sunday, 9 October 2011

Climbing the Connection Ladder.

Whatever the merits of the film 84 Charing Cross Road, I still say that the degree of connection achievable with a person through the written word alone is greatly limited.

I remember the first time I talked with Zoe on Skype. We had been corresponding by e-mail for a while, but the moment I heard her voice, the level of connection shot upwards dramatically. The needle that had been skating around the surface of my skin was suddenly plunged deep into a vein. And there is ultimately no substitute for eye contact and the reading of body language to take it further still.

I have known a couple of exceptions to the general rule, however. Those were the people with whom the connection was already set, and the written word merely a reminder of it.

No comments: