Talk as if you were making your will: the fewer words, the less litigation.
— Gracián, The Art of Worldly Wisdom
I did it, fellows. I recently went an entire work day without speaking to anyone. Now, like Apocryphal Alexander, I weep, for what is left for me to conquer? In order to extend my silence even longer, I’d probably have to officially join some kind of monastical order. No, I’m afraid I’ve reached the limits of my potential.
I haven’t intended to be silent here, by the way. It’s just the usual thing where the inanity and fatuity of the world reduces the onlooker to mute incomprehension. These things always pass, though.
April 18, 2023 @ 12:10 pm
Your achievement is an inspiration to us all, Damian. The older I get the less I care to talk and the more clear it is to me that I took a wrong turn somewhere in my career. How the hell did I end up working in corporate communications?
April 18, 2023 @ 12:38 pm
Maybe you could get away with taking periodic vows of silence. “Oh, that’s Douglas. He belongs to some fringe sect called The Order of the Tied Tongues. Says he can’t answer emails, let alone speak, for two weeks out of every month.”
April 19, 2023 @ 6:37 am
“Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muß man schweigen.”
April 19, 2023 @ 7:18 am
I like seeing how often I can get away with using wordless gestures in place of phatic communication. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve even resorted to the “finger guns” to avoid having to reciprocate a spoken greeting. All’s fair in taciturnity!