An Illustration of Communication Failure
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Quiz Program
‘Mrs Lee, do you think women are better housewives than they used to be?’
‘Which women?’
‘Which women? Why, any women.’
‘But I don’t know “any women,” I only know certain women.’
‘Well then, the women you know. Are they better housewives than they used to be?’
‘In the first place, I don’t know what they used to be. In the second place, I don’t know what you mean by “better housewives”. Do you mean, do their draperies match their cushion covers? Do you mean, do they check the ceiling prices before they buy? Do you mean, do they cook vegetables without destroying the vitamins?’
‘Why yes, we mean all those things at once.’
‘But I can’t answer all those things at once.’
‘Well then, answer one of them. Let’s say, do the women you know cook vegetables, without destroying the vitamins?’
‘I couldn’t say. I’ve never tested their vegetables for vitamins, wouldn’t know how to.’
‘Well, just give us your opinion Mrs Lee.’
‘What good is my opinion? That isn’t a matter of opinion; it’s a matter of fact. The only way I can answer that question is to go and test their vegetables.’
‘But can’t you just make a guess?’
‘Oh, well, if you want me simply to guess, I can do that. Yes, my guess would be that the women I know destroy some of the vitamin value of vegetables by cooking. But actually, of course, I don’t have any way of knowing.’
So, Mrs Lee, you maintain that women are not better housewives today than they used to be. Well, we’re all entitled to our own opinions, aren’t we folks?’
‘Look here, I didn’t say that. I made one little guess and you puffed it up into one big generalization.’
‘Thank you very much Mrs Lee.’
‘Why don’t you stop asking people these ambiguous questions?’
‘Thank you very much Mrs Lee.’
‘And what’s more, the first time I hear a curb-side interviewer who can distinguish between statements of opinion and statements of fact, i’ll buy a whole case of your ‘Fluffy Duff.’
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