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Have you ever noticed how some of the world's smartest people have a somewhat jerky stop-and-go speech pattern, sort-of like Google's autocomplete? It's not unc
by espeed 8y ago
Have you ever noticed how some of the world's smartest people have a somewhat jerky stop-and-go speech pattern, sort-of like Google's autocomplete? It's not uncommon among smart people who are careful about what they say, strive for precision, and are cognizant and empathetic to potential contextual gaps among their audience and their different levels of understanding.
Elon Musk has a similar pattern, but it's not so much a speech disorder as it is their brain is working so fast, pulling from multiple sources and considering multiple perspectives. They're auto-editing their words in real-time, revising what they're saying while considering all of the above factors and more. But sometimes they get ahead of themselves and so in an effort to be clear and precise, they backtrack a few words and rephrase, filling-in as they anticipate potential contextual gaps. This is what you're seeing.
Rather than thinking they need to see a speech therapist, view it as a mark of authentic speech by someone who strives for precision and is empathetic to their audience. When you look at it this way, you can know and appreciate that you're witnessing the genuine workings of a brilliant mind.
- aaaaaaaaaab 8y agoTerrence Tao also stutters.
- espeed 8y agoStuttering is not the right word. I'm not a speech specialist, but stuttering and stammering are not the right words. It's something else.
- copperx 8y agoI disagree; his speech seems normal to me. However, I have been thinking about the unique speech patterns of some accomplished individuals. My uninformed guess is that some people develop neural connections differently depending on what they do in their formative years. Feynman, in a video [1], talks about how he was able to keep accurate time while reading but not talking, whereas his friend John Tukey could keep time while talking but not reading. If someone doesn't talk much as a kid because they spent most of their time reading or solving math problems, it might be reasonable to expect that their speech will be underdeveloped. I have nothing but anecdotal evidence. I, for instance, cannot talk and think (perform simple arithmetic or recall something from memory or even think about the next sentence) at the same time. If I'm talking, I have to pause shortly, think and structure what I'm going to say, and then say it, and after saying it I might notice I missed something and then I rephrase it. I've recorded myself and my speech pattern is almost the same as the one in Knuth's videos. I attribute the speech pattern to not having to talk much during my formative years. [1]: http://generallythinking.com/richard-feynman-on-thinking-processes-did-he-know-nothing-about-psychology-v/ http://generallythinking.com/richard-feynman-on-thinking-pro...
- mcguire 8y agoI once attended a panel discussion with Dijkstra and Larry Loucks of IBM, along with a couple of other professors who were completely outclassed by those two. The speaking styles were radically different: EWD was slow and very precise, it was clear that he was thinking deeply about the topics; Larry was fast, facile, and rather shallow, he was of the IBM style (he who talks loudest is in charge).
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]