Chatter

“Your headlights are fading like Pluto.”

“Pluto?  The planet?  What about it?”

“It’s not a planet any more.  They re-classified it.”

“Who did?”

“The communists at the IAU.”

“I heard that neutrinos can travel faster than light.”

“Speaking of lights, that guy back there is getting real dim.  Somebody should drop and give him some help.”

“What are you talking about!?”

“Pluto!”

“No!  Mark’s lights!”

“Watch the cart!”

Confused?  That was just a sample of the cross-talk at a recent ride.  It’s always a bit fascinating, when a bunch of fairly intelligent folks all start talking at once.  Sometimes it sounds like nonsense.  Other times it’s weirdly stream-of –consciousness.

On occasion, I’ve seen a group just stop, because a conversation was too compelling, and too confusing.  So, by mutual agreement, the whole group stopped and talked it out.  More often, the conversation breaks down into several sub-groups, all riffing on the theme.  This is the “cocktail party effect.”

Think this is odd?  What do you talk about when you’re riding?