What is our experience?

as reply to I am not the audience for pineapple

If forced to eat green bananas that made you vomit as a child, you'd probably consider yourself the wrong audience for banana bread. "I hate bananas!" -- might be a flag you wave.

If you grew up in a place where pineapple is sold ripe from the field, you'd have a different experience than those who had it shipped green and prepared by somebody who doesn't know what they're doing. If canned pineapple was your experience -- and that's a separate flavor as well.

I would 100% agree that "unripe" pineapple is not for me. However, I have the experience of eating it fresh in a tropical country; it's a completely different experience. 

We often use the same word to conflate different concepts -- and yet we don't seem to understand why we disagree.

We have many words for water. There's tap water, sea water, filtered water, etc. etc. If I offered you a glass of water, you may assume I mean filtered, bottled water, but I may mean tap water. The latter, may have some local flavor that's unappealing. If that was your first experience, you may claim you don't like drinking water.

Clarifying distinctions help us communicate. Generalizing concepts keep us ignorant.

Communication meant to rally the troops uses high-level, abstract ideas that people can agree on. Words used to find agreement require specific, well understood parameters and shared experience. It's best when the thing we're talking about is something we have both experienced.

The next time you disagree with somebody, ask yourself: Are we both talking about the same kind of bananas? Did you try green bananas and I've had over-ripe sweet bananas baked into a bread?
Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to clarify. I object to pineapples in all forms. 😎
2021-01-14 19:12:42
Now reminds me of Green Eggs & Ham. Thanks for the clarification.
2021-01-14 19:22:10
I think writing helps obviate this problem. When speaking the rate at which we think we're thinking about the same thing but we're not increases. Such either leads to polarizing sense of extreme agreement or disagreement.

That's why I think companies that have a writing-first strategy have a headstart over ones that are synchronous meetings first.
2021-01-15 16:00:13
Abe, I think your comment thinking speed and alignment deserves to be teased out a bit. Brandon - what food do you like as much as you hate pineapple? I.e. what's Yin to your pineapple Yang?
2021-01-15 18:17:14