This is the first post in an ongoing series that I am calling Dinner Discussion^®. The idea is that you are to bring up the topic over dinner with a friend and discuss. Then come back and post comments the insights you uncovered. I think it will be really interesting and fun to see some different responses.

The first Dinner Discussion^® topic is Thought-Communication Disparity: the incredible difference between the vast complexity of what goes on inside the human brain versus the relatively very simple communication channels we have to express it. Picture a huge, dammed lake where only small amount of water can get through the flood gates at any moment. For every word you utter (or type), millions of pieces of data process through your brain – from emotions to external sensations to associations and memories. What vast breadth of problems (personal, social, political, etc) arise from the extremely limited communication bandwidth between your brain and the other party? what can we learn from it? What opportunities exist because of it?

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I’m a little behind the fad, as I am just now reading The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell; but I am really enjoying the book, especially a section on Broken Window Theory. The basic idea is that major problems (i.e. crimes such as robbery and murder) will escalate in a vicinity if lesser problems (i.e. crimes such as graffiti, public disturbance, aggressive pan handling) are ignored. So, for instance, if a community repairs broken windows in its vicinity, then criminals can see that the community cares about the area, and is less likely to tolerate crime. Thus the criminals go elsewhere, seeking a path of less resistance. The psychology I want to focus on is that people will rise or fall to the bar that you set with your expectations and actions.

I would love to hear about a specific situation you have experienced where the Broken Window Theory applies. Feel free to tell your tale in comments section for this post.

I’ll start off with a small example of my own…

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It’s funny because it’s true. So really, it’s more like a chuckle followed by a sigh. I like seeing alternate operating systems like Linux and OSX making strides toward increasing market share, but Microsoft is so well embedded that it will take another decade to ever unseat them as the OS champion.