For the great majority of my life, talking to yourself was a sure sign of madness.
My children find this very hard to believe, which shows how far and fast things have changed. I remember as a student seeing a man around the streets of Wellington who used to mutter angrily to himself while he was walking along. In those days, other pedestrians would find this behaviour alarming, and would steer clear of him whenever possible. These days I see the same man, exhibiting the same behaviour, and no passersby finds it odd in the least. People are apparently talking to themselves everywhere nowadays, but of course most of the time it’s actually on the phone to someone else. I wonder if the schizophrenic man has noticed any change in the way people view him now?
Cell phones have become prevalent only in my adult life. I remember the enormous brick phone Simon had when he was on call as a GP back in the early 90s. In those days, you always put the phone to your ear to talk, and it’s only been recently I’ve broken the habit to hold it in front of me, face up with the microphone towards me, on speaker.
When I was walking the dogs on the beach a few weeks ago, listening to music with my new EarPods, my phone rang. I was digging around in my pockets for my phone when I realised I could hear Simon speak through my EarPods. Still unfamiliar with the new technology, I talked to my phone held in front me as usual, until the penny dropped that I could leave it in my pocket and still continue the conversation. So, now I was one of those people apparently talking to myself. That’s progress for you.