Sorry K_V, but E_V has a point.
It may not be the actual content of the words (I admit, it sounds like inane chatter to me often enough, but then, so does car speak), so much as the process of communicating itself.
A surprisingly small amount of the verbalization performed by humans is actually a transmission of information (well, relevant/significant information anyway), so much as it is a social bonding technique. "My Group" - "My Herd" - "My Friends" or whatever. Long distance mass comunication has muddied the issue somewhat, as has our claims of being an intelligent, rational species. As much as anything, and probably primarily, we talk to establish social interaction/bonds, not to transmit information.
Which is the longest thread on this board? in terms of postings and probably longevity as well? Correct:
Padding, with so far almost
220 pages, and more than
3000 individual posts - more than
any other sub-board here - many of which would be classified as spamming just about anywhere else. It counts almost
10 000 'views'. And I doubt anyone here would challenge you if you called that 'inane chatter'.
Even
I have posted in that bloody thread!
It's part of what makes us a group. The shared, common knowledge, the shared referances, the in-jokes. Ever noticed how the
padding thread has become a sort of in-joke in itself? How we warn 'n00bz' not to read it from the beginning, because there'sjust too much drivel?
Sometimes, indeed very often, it's not the content, but the act of communicating itself which is of interest, which is why (much to my personal dismay and dislike, I can assure you), that that inane chatter does have a certain validity.
That people then choose to chatter inanely over things like hair or car or bad movies ... well, says alot about people I find, don't you?
EDIT: Edited for further content, and ease of readability.
