Who Has the Best Communication Skills on Physics Forums?

[brewnog]

I think the key to being a good communicator, at least on PF and other such forums, is to make sure that you understand the question before you try and address it.

Often, you see people seeing a few key words in an OP, and going off on tangents showing off their knowledge, without actually considering what level the OP's understanding is at, and sometimes without even answering the question at all.

A good sign of a good communicator is that they'll start asking more questions about the OP topic before they start actually answering the question.

 

[Lisa!]

I think the key to being a good communicator, at least on PF and other such forums, is to make sure that you understand the question before you try and address it.

Often, you see people seeing a few key words in an OP, and going off on tangents showing off their knowledge, without actually considering what level the OP's understanding is at, and sometimes without even answering the question at all.

A good sign of a good communicator is that they'll start asking more questions about the OP topic before they start actually answering the question.

Agree with you. The main problem of everywhere is misunderstanding.

 

[Moonbear]

I think the key to being a good communicator, at least on PF and other such forums, is to make sure that you understand the question before you try and address it.

Often, you see people seeing a few key words in an OP, and going off on tangents showing off their knowledge, without actually considering what level the OP's understanding is at, and sometimes without even answering the question at all.

For some reason, I see that too often in the Chemistry forum if one of the regulars doesn't head it off. I feel sorry for some of the Chem students who wander in asking some really simple question from their General Chemistry class that you know is meant to be simple and given a simple answer due to the level they are at, and someone launches into advanced thermodynamics that has no resemblance to anything in the original question.

A good sign of a good communicator is that they'll start asking more questions about the OP topic before they start actually answering the question.

That's more of a teaching style. But that is an inherent part of communication that if you don't understand something well yourself, you're not going to be able to communicate it well to others. So it's a two-way street when someone is asking a question. They're asking because there's something they don't understand, which means sometimes the questions are worded strangely, so you need to take some time to figure out which part is the real problem or source of confusion. On the other hand, by asking these questions, we're also prodding the questioner to think more about what they've written and to find answers for themselves. Then, you can complete the explanation once understanding fully what the question is that is being asked.

One tough thing is to remember not to take mental shortcuts and to outline every step of the logic. You may have done something so many times that you know A always leads to J, but when explaining to someone new to a subject, you still need to include steps B through I.

 

[heman]

I think the key to being a good communicator, at least on PF and other such forums, is to make sure that you understand the question before you try and address it.

Often, you see people seeing a few key words in an OP, and going off on tangents showing off their knowledge, without actually considering what level the OP's understanding is at, and sometimes without even answering the question at all.

A good sign of a good communicator is that they'll start asking more questions about the OP topic before they start actually answering the question.

Brewnog,you rock!
You have come up with one of the most penetrating reason for ineffective communication or i would say you have read my mind!
This happens a lot on Pf,and it's indeed bound to happen to certain extent when intelligent minds clash.

 

[brewnog]

Brewnog,you rock!

I try my best heman, I try my best...

 

[heman]

Okay,here i am Comparing two Amazing Personalities.
First one Divine young Lady Moonbear and secondly Crouching tiger Marlon
Both of you are unique and adorable,It's obvious you will agree/disagree with me but it's the way i think.

So i make this Comparsion interesting and i keep points.
10-maximum
0-minimum
(Moonbear:Marlon)

1.Physical look 7:8
Both of you are slim and smart.
I will say Moonbear is more beautiful and Marlon is sexier.!
Marlon's face looks expressive and he can be scary at times on the other hand i observe an serene Joviel look on the face of Moonbear.

2.Warm Langauge 10:5
When Moonbear speaks she keeps many things in mind.She tries to make the other person feel better and even if she disgrees,she does it softly but Marlon can easily offend anybody and doesn't care for the feelings of other person as much as Moonbear does.Moonbear tries to maintain her image and tends to be nice.Marlon is alive and aggresive.

3.Intelligence 7:8
It's tough to compare the intelligence when both of them are from two different fields.I find Marlon to be bit more intelligent,but i will not forgot he is young.

4.Understanding 10:6
Moonbear tries to understand the situation completely and uses her own mind and goes to the level at which the other person is and tries to see what's wrong with him/her.Marlon remains at his own level and asks questions.

5.Helpfulness 10:7
I will say Moonbear is more committed to helping others.If you will approach her,she will never deny and will come up with whatever advices she can give despite being very busy.If you will pm her,you will get the reply in time and you will be contended with the extent she can go to helping you.

6.Bold,Challenging and Penetrating 6:10
I think i don't need to say anything for this.

7.Maturity and Enlightenment 10:8


ahhhhh...i can't compare anymore.!
Both of you are great and i like both of you.
Marlon,Please don't ask me why i think like that or examples..I said this much because you asked me to but infact i hate comparing peoples.

Okay Finally i accept that you too Communicate Well and i mean it.

 

[outsider]

heman,
you seem to be a nice guy who likes people. i realize that english is not your main language and so I applaud you on your presence here. I would like to retract anything that I have previously said about you as that was quite unfair as you may have a communication disadvantage. I would not be able to compare with you in your mother tongue I'm sure.

What I do want to say as advice to you is that you may want to understand the definition of communication. The definition of which I thought you were referring to was:

The art and technique of using words effectively to impart information or ideas.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=communication

There are other definitions, but I'll leave it up to you to communicate your intended definition to everyone.

Happy communications everyone.

 

[heman]

heman,
you seem to be a nice guy who likes people. i realize that english is not your main language and so I applaud you on your presence here. I would like to retract anything that I have previously said about you as that was quite unfair as you may have a communication disadvantage. I would not be able to compare with you in your mother tongue I'm sure.

What I do want to say as advice to you is that you may want to understand the definition of communication. The definition of which I thought you were referring to was:

The art and technique of using words effectively to impart information or ideas.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=communication

There are other definitions, but I'll leave it up to you to communicate your intended definition to everyone.

Happy communications everyone.

If i am losing any conversational battle,i will not try to bring into scene into such sluggish points that i am not from USA or anyother such thing.Well that will be a lame excuse on my side.

I know what was happening during our conversations.
If one of us is Adamant ,the other one is bound to be adamant.
Its exactly saying like that if you will not listen to me,simply i will not listen to you.
This was a type of monologue from both of us,and we were just clashing.
You had some very good points and indeed some bad points but i simply focussed on your bad points and glorified them,you did same,that's why i think we reached at such an interface.

But i truly believe that you communicate very well and obviously intelligent.i will not forget that you used warm and friendly language,and tried to trigger my thinking.I owe a debt of Thanks to you.

Well I was not entering into definitions ,i rather tended to learn the power of communication.

 

[juvenal]

Moonbear = super earnest
Marlon = super horny

 

[Smurf]

heman you're such a suck up.

 

[heman]

heman you're such a suck up.

ha ha
On which ground did you make such an statement??
You know Smurf ,you are like an mouse who will run away if i will say something objectionable.
Develop power to face.!

 

[Artman]

Um, I think there's been a mistake - there's nothing in here but lingerie and chocolate syrup.

No mistake. Put them on and hit the slip-n-slide.

 

[Artman]

One of the problems with internet communication is that it is totally written. Subtlty is difficult, humorous statements come off sounding funny , you can't use tone of voice or hand guestures to make points. For those reasons, I think that writing humor is a difficult form of communication. Moonbear, Danger, Evo, TheBob, Doc Toxin, Tribdog, Ivan Seeking, Zoobyshoe, MIH, and several others do this quite well.

Brewnog, Astronuc, Janus, Tom Mattson, Honestrosewater, hypnagogue I find are very easy to understand. This, to me, indicates good communication skills.

For the most part everyone here communicates well. That being said, some do leave me questioning their meaning (are they being serious, are they being cruel, what do they mean by that phrase? Etc). For many here, English is not their native language, even so, most of those persons communicate extremely well.

 

[Smurf]

ha ha

Indeed

On which ground did you make such an statement??

On the grounds that I'm god.

You know Smurf ,you are like an mouse who will run away if i will say something objectionable.

Not running away now.

Develop power to face.!

You're a face.

 

[Evo]

One of the problems with internet communication is that it is totally written. Subtlty is difficult, humorous statements come off sounding funny , you can't use tone of voice or hand guestures to make points. For those reasons, I think that writing humor is a difficult form of communication. Moonbear, Danger, Evo, TheBob, Doc Toxin, Tribdog, Ivan Seeking, Zoobyshoe, MIH, and several others do this quite well.

Artman is at the top of that list.

Huckleberry was quite good. (I think that flipper foot is dead. )

 

[hitssquad]

No, that's cool. I don't know what 'overdoped high-Tc' means, but I think I get the idea.

superconductors.org/terms.htm#Tc

--
Tc: The scientific notation representing the critical transition temperature below which a material begins to superconduct. The sudden loss of resistance in a superconductive medium may occur across a range as small as 20 millionths of a degree or, in the case of some stoichiometrically imperfect compounds, tens of degrees. Click here to see a graphic example.
--

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:...y_D/sheehy_thesis.ps+overdoped+glossary&hl=en
--
For a given material of the cuprate family, the material having the highest value of Tc is referred to as being "optimally doped"; materials with a lower (higher) density of dopants are referred to as being "underdoped"("overdoped").
--

 

[Pengwuino]

heman you're such a suck up.

Did you hear that Evo! Smurf is being mean!

*runs up and hides behind Evo and fixes her car*

 

[Evo]

Did you hear that Evo! Smurf is being mean!

*runs up and hides behind Evo and fixes her car*

BAD SMURF!

Gives Pengwuino a "get out of banning free" card for fixing her car.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Gives Pengwuino a "get out of banning free" card for fixing her car.

I'm just reading about Pope Julius II who started selling "indulgences" to bolster the Vatican's coffers. For a given fee, he would guarrantee a certain amount of time off their sentence in Purgatory.

Included with PF contributor priviledges, indulgences might stimulate more contributions.

 

[honestrosewater]

--<snip>--

You just don't give up. Thanks, I'll make sense of that when I get this syrup out of my eyes.

I'm just reading about Pope Julius II who started selling "indulgences" to bolster the Vatican's coffers. For a given fee, he would guarrantee a certain amount of time off their sentence in Purgatory.

Included with PF contributor priviledges, indulgences might stimulate more contributions.

On a somewhat related note, a new movie about Martin Luther came out recently: with Joseph Fiennes as Luther. I enjoyed it.

 

[Evo]

I'm just reading about Pope Julius II who started selling "indulgences" to bolster the Vatican's coffers. For a given fee, he would guarrantee a certain amount of time off their sentence in Purgatory.

Included with PF contributor priviledges, indulgences might stimulate more contributions.

The original seller of indulgences was, I believe, the infamous Medici, Pope Leo X, who (to restore the coffers he depleted with his indulgences) had church agents go throughout the countryside selling "Papal Indulgences" which would forgive even the already deceased from their sins. This sparked the fury of one German monk named Martin Luther.

edit:in checking, It seems Julius II predated Leo X, but Leo X is the one that caused the trouble. Ok, Julius II was a badass, but I don't see indulgences listed. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08562a.htm

 

[Moonbear]

You just don't give up. Thanks, I'll make sense of that when I get this syrup out of my eyes.

Syrup? Are you sure that's syrup and not penguin spit?

 

[Pengwuino]

Syrup? Are you sure that's syrup and not penguin spit?

shhhh

 

[Evo]

Syrup? Are you sure that's syrup and not penguin spit?

....

 

[honestrosewater]

Yeah, I don't know what to say to that either except

I thought it was funny that Evo and I both thought of Martin Luther on the mere mention of indulgences. But I guess I'm easily amused.

 

[zoobyshoe]

edit:in checking, It seems Julius II predated Leo X, but Leo X is the one that caused the trouble. Ok, Julius II was a badass, but I don't see indulgences listed. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08562a.htm

Can't give you a link, only a quote from the book I'm reading:

"In 1507 Julius promulgated a bull offering indulgences, which meant people could pay to reduce the time their friends or relatives spent in Purgatory (usually calculated at 9,000 years). All of the funds accruing from this controversial measure were earmarked for the building of St. Peter's."

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling
Ross King
Penguin Books, 2003 p.29

So, maybe that date can google you closer to more info.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I thought it was funny that Evo and I both thought of Martin Luther on the mere mention of indulgences. But I guess I'm easily amused.

I think it would be really peculiar if you hadn't thought of him.

 

[honestrosewater]

I think it would be really peculiar if you hadn't thought of him.

Oh, maybe I'm out of touch with other people's thought processes too. Martin Luther is mentioned in 5/7 of google's 1^st page of (relevant) results for 'indulgences'.

 

[heman]

On the grounds that I'm god.

I thought you mixed up with the arrangement of words,i am sure you meant dog!
the one who just barks and never bites!

 

[outsider]

I thought you mixed up with the arrangement of words,i am sure you meant dog!
the one who just barks and never bites!

he's bitten.

 

[heman]

..By Whom!

 

[reilly]

Anyone who has raised kids, managed, taught, worked in sales, advertising or PR or politics know many of the ins and outs of successful -- and not successful -- communication. Unless you are content to preach to the choir, your success in communication is first directly linked to your ability to listen and read. Then, of really equal importance, your ability to speak and write with an homage to Occam and the KISS acronym is paramount to your skill in communicating. (Tell 'em what you are going to tell 'em, tell 'em, and tell 'em what you told 'em.)

That being said, there are issues of style, tone, emphasis, directness, all of which can create considerable tension in the communicator. Do you answer a question directly, do you suggest ways the poster can work toward an answer, do you chastise ad hominem remarks? Do you decide an oblique answer is appropriate?

In my view, there are many participants in the forum who, on occasion, hit the target of excellent posts. And the same people may, in another post, go over the top, get it wrong, write small essays celebrating personal views, and so on. It's a mixed bag for everyone.

If you are serious about your writing and communication, then there are two books you absolutely must have and read, and read, and read. They are the classic "The Elements of Style", Strunk and White, and "On Writing Well", William Zinsser, who, among other things, discusses writing about science and technology.

Sad to say, the Intelligent Design and Creationist folks are well ahead of us, those who support Evolution, in their communications. My favorite example is, "Well, evolution is just a theory." The use of "just" is brilliant and very deceptive. "Well if evolution is just a theory, I certainly don't want my child to learn it; I had no idea..." I've heard this more than once.

In my opinion, mainstream science must visit Madison Ave. and attend spin school, and really listen to the other side. Note; advertising and pr and spin do not have to be dishonest. Like a TV ad says, "We're going to make Accounts Receivable exciting again."

Regards,
Reilly Atkinson

 

[zoobyshoe]

Reilly just won.

 

[heman]

Anyone who has raised kids, managed, taught, worked in sales, advertising or PR or politics know many of the ins and outs of successful -- and not successful -- communication. Unless you are content to preach to the choir, your success in communication is first directly linked to your ability to listen and read. Then, of really equal importance, your ability to speak and write with an homage to Occam and the KISS acronym is paramount to your skill in communicating. (Tell 'em what you are going to tell 'em, tell 'em, and tell 'em what you told 'em.)

That being said, there are issues of style, tone, emphasis, directness, all of which can create considerable tension in the communicator. Do you answer a question directly, do you suggest ways the poster can work toward an answer, do you chastise ad hominem remarks? Do you decide an oblique answer is appropriate?

In my view, there are many participants in the forum who, on occasion, hit the target of excellent posts. And the same people may, in another post, go over the top, get it wrong, write small essays celebrating personal views, and so on. It's a mixed bag for everyone.

If you are serious about your writing and communication, then there are two books you absolutely must have and read, and read, and read. They are the classic "The Elements of Style", Strunk and White, and "On Writing Well", William Zinsser, who, among other things, discusses writing about science and technology.

Sad to say, the Intelligent Design and Creationist folks are well ahead of us, those who support Evolution, in their communications. My favorite example is, "Well, evolution is just a theory." The use of "just" is brilliant and very deceptive. "Well if evolution is just a theory, I certainly don't want my child to learn it; I had no idea..." I've heard this more than once.

In my opinion, mainstream science must visit Madison Ave. and attend spin school, and really listen to the other side. Note; advertising and pr and spin do not have to be dishonest. Like a TV ad says, "We're going to make Accounts Receivable exciting again."

Regards,
Reilly Atkinson

Reilly,Excellent Reply!
You have brought up some very good points which no one before you stressed on.!

 

[heman]

Marlon,Where are you??