Abstract Tomatoes rating: ☁️ 74% (Abstract)
What does this have to do with anything?
Red Tomatoes rating: 🌿 12% (Green)
There’s really no point, it’s all observations…
The word “interface” as an intransitive verb, according to Merriam-Webster (an admittedly old, outdated relic by now), means to interact or coordinate harmoniously.
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Think of two people meeting for the first time and shaking hands. One might indulge me by noting that they can be described as “interfacing”.
This interface, simple and mundane, is a deceptively complex, nuanced thing. Both people are agreeing to engage in the social practice of embracing their hand with a stranger’s, often a practice of introduction, parting, or greeting.
During this handshake, perhaps one person’s grip is strong and the other’s is weak. The weak one is intimidated by the strong one, and the strong one is disdainful of the weak one—or, perhaps, the other way around. Perhaps the handshake is accompanied with warm smiles, perhaps by stony stares.
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Think of two animals meeting in a symbiotic relationship—a cleaner wrasse approaching the mouth of a shark, for example. The wrasse essentially brushes the shark’s teeth, entering the sharks jagged jaws to collect its meal. The shark slacks its jaw thankfully.
What told this little wrasse that it could approach this shark? What told this shark that it should not eat this little wrasse?
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What acts of interfacing do you think about?
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