{"id":4489,"date":"2014-01-20T17:05:41","date_gmt":"2014-01-20T21:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arts.umich.edu\/ink\/?p=4489"},"modified":"2014-01-20T17:22:49","modified_gmt":"2014-01-20T21:22:49","slug":"the-art-of-introductions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/2014\/01\/20\/the-art-of-introductions\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Introductions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\"text\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

Allow me to introduce myself, I am a man of taste, if not wealth. My name is Nick, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a pleasure to meet you, though perhaps you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel as if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve met me quite yet, know that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve met you. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right, because as you read these words that are so silently, insidiously slipping into your brain, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m there too. Introductions are much easier when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re already in somebody\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s head, wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you agree?<\/p>\n

Still, in case you weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t born with Professor X\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rather marvelous mutation or studied fervently over bent spoons, we can discuss the more commonplace modes of introduction. I feel that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an appropriate topic for this first of blog posts, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you? Seeing that you do, or you wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have continued to give voice to these words (I wonder whose voice you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re hearing now in that beautiful brain of yours, is it mine or does the voice inside your head have its own sound?), we shall strive onwards!<\/p>\n

\"professor-x\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I must admit that this is the most thought I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve given to an introduction in quite some time. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a rather intriguing art to consider though, wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you agree? We introduce ourselves in so many different ways to so many different people, and even this diversity expands exponentially if you want to factor in all the methods of introduction that have been employed throughout the ages of the human condition (not to leave out other animals, as butt-sniffing is a perfectly respectable canine introduction). The formality one might find in Pride & Prejudice presents a stark contrast to the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hey\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sup\u00e2\u20ac\u009d you’d punch into your phone or find waiting for you after a shower.<\/p>\n

This is not to disparage new forms of communication, I rely on texting and Facebook chatting to get things done as much as I imagine most do. However, what are the ramifications of replacing courtly gestures and mannerisms with blind Facebook friend requests sent desperately out into the darkness of the internet? Introductions these days seem all too fleeting, as greetings become shorter and more dismissive. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How are you,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is no longer a question, but an excuse to walk by someone or continue ordering your meal through the speakers at a drive-thru. Is the art of introduction lost, or merely changing? Perhaps there is something to be said for conciseness (brevity being the soul of wit, after all), but is it possible that a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hey\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be jam-packed with as much meaning as a bow or curtsey? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d argue very much yes, because not all \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sup\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u009d were texted equal. A “hi : )” from that cutie you met at the bar or a “yo” from a best bro can mean entirely different things. Who you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re texting and why, whether you throw in an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153lol\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153: )\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can change the entire tone of a internet conversation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dreaded tonelessness.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you feel that you still don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know me, but I believe in showing rather than telling and by now you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had my voice in your head for quite some time. I really can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think of a better introduction than that, so having met you, now I shall leave you. Until next time, fare thee well.<\/p>\n

\"envelope-wax-seal\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear friend, Allow me to introduce myself, I am a man of taste, if not wealth. My name is Nick, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a pleasure to meet you, though perhaps you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel as if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve met me quite yet, know that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve met you. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right, because as you read these words that are so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4489"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/375"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4489"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4498,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4489\/revisions\/4498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}