16 June 2005 Thursday

ramble on Open honesty

some “yes it’s obvious but i’m thinking about it anyway” rambling, for a bit:

Writing in a blog is really not like writing in a journal. In the pages of a journal, you can write about work and your boss and your clients; relationship doubts and problems; frustrations with parents, inlaws, siblings;
Even better if you can keep that journal safely under lock and key, or write it in a language no one else can read.
No such thing online.

Some people are really really bold or naive or manage some style of anonymity, and do divulge some very personal experiences..even current ones. Some lose their jobs over it, some lose their friends, and a few lose their dignity.
Kind of unfortunate side effects of the truth..

Since I did proclaim this as a ramble from the start, I won’t too much agonize now about turning the thought to divulsion and honesty and openness: How very very different the world would be if humans communicated telepathically. And in what styles? Full control over what details/feelings/visions we relate exactly to another individual or crowd? Would some have less control over hiding their thoughts than others?
Would some be able to pry into other minds where they weren’t welcomed? Possibly some humans can already communicate/maneuver with some of these abilities..

What if it weren’t so controlled as our speech and physical expressions? What if we were all open books… no secrets.. all known to everyone… We’d have to be a collective mind, I suppose… — though i think it would be possible to maintain individuality… just not keep corners for ourselves. Idea proprietorship, surprises, most all card games would cease to exist. Giftwrap wouldn’t happen, misunderstandings would be rare, cheating and planned crimes would be unlikely.

How would romantic relationships work? Commitment? Adultery? Secret crushes? Maybe it would have to all be open relationships. Or everyone would be extremely loyal to their significant others. Would disloyal thoughts be considered disloyalty? Perhaps.

Security scanners at airport would never have existed, fake IDs would have no place, the car salesman would give you the honest price, and cops wouldn’t give you parking tickets for “5:04 5:00 pm” in a “free meters after 5pm” zone.

And our blogs would be written in something far deeper than text, and would/could be completely honest.

as a side closing note: plain truth and honesty is not the same as open honesty. you can be a truthful person and keep everything to yourself. you can be so close to a dozen people, and not be completely open with them.
It’s kind of been a key point for some of the most important things in my life. I always considered my personal world as kept very close to myself. Comfortably so. But openness shared can be so much more comfortable.