Oddbean

Back in my day we didn't have social media. If you wanted to see a reply-guy you had to go to a public lecture and wait for the people to stand up at the end and say "not so much a question, more a comment..."

@b870d4c8 I remember going to London a few times in the '90s and going to Speakers Corner in Hyde Park just to watch the speakers but especially the reply guys. Haven't been back to London in over 20 years but think back to it whenever I'm on social media.

@b870d4c8 And more often than not they'd eventually be shouted down by the rest of the audience. 😉 The time without social media was better for society as a whole. The acceleration of everyday life has done more bad than good.

@b870d4c8 I actually had that 2 yrs ago. During class, my mother called. She was upset: a good friend had died, she was so sad. I took a bit of time to talk to her even though everyone could hear what I said, and said I would call her immediately after class. I recomposed myself and since it was almost break time, I suggested we took it now. After class I asked if there were questions. "Not so much a question but a comment. I felt the lesson after the break was not as nice as the rest." 😳🙄😔