![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_1184.jpeg?resize=300%2C288&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nFor the great majority of my life, talking to yourself was a sure sign of madness.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s actually on the phone to someone else. I wonder if the schizophrenic man has noticed any change in the way people view him now?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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\u2019s only been recently I\u2019ve broken the habit to hold it in front of me, face up with the microphone towards me, on speaker.
\nWhen 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\u2019s progress for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the great majority of my life, talking to yourself was a sure sign of madness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8Ukf-3iA","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3026,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/07\/where\/","url_meta":{"origin":12684,"position":0},"title":"Where?","author":"Interloper11","date":"August 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Just asked by a courier with a heavy metal box which way to biomedical engineering. I had no idea so had to flag down a passing orderly. This in spite of having worked here for mumble mumble years. Well, I\u2019m not making any excuses. New buildings come and go but\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7792,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/18\/wax-on-wax-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":12684,"position":1},"title":"Wax on, wax off","author":"Interloper11","date":"April 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s hard to explain why having your ear blocked with wax is so unpleasant. It\u2019s certainly not painful. Partly I think it\u2019s that full\/stuffed up feeling, but mostly it\u2019s the sudden deafness. I've had trouble with my ears all my life. They\u2019ve been perforated multiple times, most notably as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/DC839119-80A1-414C-89BB-1D270FC86DE5-300x230.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6405,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2021\/04\/23\/existential-threats-number-63-wet-hair\/","url_meta":{"origin":12684,"position":2},"title":"Existential threats number 63: wet hair","author":"Interloper11","date":"April 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Our antique door locks have been giving us some grief so we got the locksmith round to give us some advice. He\u2019s very experienced, and loved our vintage locks. All the young people (and Simon) these days want sophisticated new technology so they can use their smart phones to open\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/accordingtokirsty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/5E85B3D8-47E4-411B-94A6-3E57DB95D875-228x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2979,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/30\/the-youth-of-today-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":12684,"position":3},"title":"The youth of today","author":"Interloper11","date":"July 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the registrars I was on with over the weekend never replied to a couple of texts I sent him. It wasn\u2019t a problem, because he was carrying the duty anaesthetist phone as well, so I just wrote it off as typical millennial behaviour. 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The actor who plays Freddy Mercury absolutely deserves an Oscar, although I believe his chances have taken a severe hit\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6756,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2021\/08\/09\/another-tropical-island-holiday\/","url_meta":{"origin":12684,"position":5},"title":"Another tropical island holiday","author":"Interloper11","date":"August 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Arrived in Aitutaki yesterday in the pouring rain. Slept like a log, and it\u2019s a much nicer day today. Walked down to the restaurant to hear my name being called. It was a nurse from theatre recovery back home. 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