Every time I read 37signals’ blog, I find something of value. Today they tell me about a Finnish researcher in human communication, Osmo Wiio, and his Murphy-like laws of communication.
- If communication can fail, it will.
- If a message can be understood in different ways, it will be understood in just that way which does the most harm.
- There is always somebody who knows better than you what you meant by your message.
- The more communication there is, the more difficult it is for communication to succeed.
After that, you may want to read more about Osmo Wiio.
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23 April 2008 at 6:09 pm
Tim
I didn’t understand that
I take it from this that this guy is a serial killer?
I don’t think that guy really understood what he was talking about
Um, haven’t really got anything for the last one….
24 April 2008 at 9:45 am
Stilgherrian
@Tim: Maybe you’d have succeeded with the last one if there’d been only three Laws?
Actually, on a serious note, I can relate to the last one from a business perspective. If I send a client “everything they need”, they read none of it anyway. So I’m only wasting my time.
25 April 2008 at 9:46 pm
Cait
I agree with all four, with one caveat. The more important/urgent the information is, the harder/longer it will be to get through to people.