Changing times and changing standards

Original post:  December 19, 2011

My boys recently discovered Looney Tunes. As they laughed hysterically at the antics of the Road Runner, my mind wandered back to the many Saturday mornings I enjoyed as a child laughing at these same cartoons. Part of the genius of those stories was their ability to establish vivid, memorable characters quickly while allowing children to enjoy the action and the adults to smirk at the subtle undertext.

Interestingly enough, there is a major disclaimer that appears when you first boot the DVD. You can't skip past or fast forward through this message. It lingers unmistakeably for at least two full minutes. Warner Brothers clearly states that some of the material on the disc is offensive to current societal norms. The caricatures that once were mainstream are now off-limits. Still, their argument is that it is more important to display the cartoons unaltered rather than to try to pretend that they didn't exist.

My children are far too young to understand exactly why what is being shown on-screen may not be up to the current moral standards. At this point, they just enjoy the antics and miss the deeper meaning of what they witness. As they get older, we'll have to explain to them why things were the way they were and why that was wrong.

In related news, the NTSB recently recommended a full ban on cell phone conversations and texting while driving. I am in full agreement on the texting. I have a harder time with the hands-free calling. In my personal view, the key danger is not necessarily the call. It's looking away from the road to spot little letters on the screen or fumbling one-handed to finish that text. A full ban is unlikely to have much impact on me since I don't spend a lot of time in the car. If I were a sales rep, I would certainly feel threatened.

It's often easy in retrospect to look back at some of the things that we take for granted now that were never even thought of in earlier days. As a child, I never wore a seat belt. No one today would even think of driving around without child seats. The standards evolve, and we adapt with them.

Oddly enough, I still find myself rooting for the coyote from time to time....

Why communication is so difficult

Original post:  August 10, 2011

One of my key responsibilities involves data standards. If you have ever scanned products at a grocery store, you've used one of those standards. There is an active movement to modify the standards to meet the needs of healthcare.

There is an old communication adage that goes something like this:

     "What you say may not be what the other person hears. 

      What you hear may not be what the other person means."

In order to be useful, standards must be universally accepted and understood. That is much harder than it seems. In a multi-lingual world, there are enormous challenges with interpretation and nuance. Communication is difficult even when you are speaking the same language. Even though English is spoken in both the US and UK, a "boot" or a "lift" hold two very different meanings. We even have major regional differences in the US.

The addition of computers to this equation adds yet another layer of complexity. Unlike a face-to-face encounter, computers are unable to detect contextual clues to help interpret what you really meant to say.

The good news is that the industry has recognized that this topic is important. Many major players have devoted time and resource to come up with potential solutions. It will be interesting to see how these initiatives develop through the years.