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Comment by throwaway201606 | Hacker News Reader

throwaway201606

Jumping in here since this has floated to to the top and I responded to a similar comment below.

Felt strongly enough about this that I actually took the time up write an actual literal paper letter (or maybe an email, don't remember... but paper letter , stamp, walk 20 miles uphill to post office works better for dramatic effect ) back in 2004 to ask the question.

The question was asked in the magazine and the answer by Mr. Kapur was published in the magazine.... but my google-fu cannot find the answer he had posted back then...

Unfortunately, I don't remember the answer so the cliffhanger continues.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/2567061/no-bull-approa...

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OK, finally found the key words that let Google point me to the comment with Mr. Kapur's response giving a fuller explanation of what happened.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/2567290/no-more-bull.a...

It seems the author’s entire philosophy of communication is at odds with mine.

Would it hurt to communicate what happened? No, it adds important detail. Especially on a phone call, there’s much more bandwidth for explaining “I’m ok” without explicitly saying it through tone of voice. As a parent, the bull being dead is entirely irrelevant. So, “I hit a bull on the way home but I’m fine” would have done the trick without any annoying cliffhangers. Similarly for the author’s lack of explanation of what happened.

I disagree. “I’m fine, but I hit a bull on my way back home” is infinitely better because at no point is there any uncertainty about the condition of the person.

I don't think you're disagreeing to the extent that you think you are because the original post says "I'm ok, the bull is dead" like some sort of riddle.

Either way, the delivery on the phone is not limited to the order of the clauses, it's also in the tone of voice. Saying "I hit a bull" while sobbing conveys something entirely different than calmly stating "I hit a bull." Over the phone the entirety of the message can be heard and the order matters less.

If you improve your listening skills, it's the same

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