The etymology of tradition has something to do with the concept of ‘surrender’; to surrender to something larger more, secure than individual identity. Perhaps even to look for truth in numbers and meaning in the acts of others that have survived the ravages of time.
Whatever the reason, there is a distinct earnestness which creeps into the voices and gestures of people trying to present their traditions for the perusal of strangers. They want us to know, they want us to see what they do in their craft or idea. They want us to see the things that they are a part of. The cultural probes that were presented showed me a little something of what I already know, but their presentations taught me things I did not. A manner of speaking, a manner of explaining (the presenter tries to emphasize things that he/she believes their audience might not get – but what makes them think that to begin with?), a hand gesture. Elements like that is what makes this exchange far more enlightening for me. Information can be found anywhere on the net, the experience of trying to look for it in another human being is far more interesting.
There is a distinct difference in the way we all work here. Some of us have very systematic minds that open up sub headings and footnotes; some of us have a jumble on a soft board; some of us have Venn diagrams. All of us are willing to work and attempt to understand each other to the best of our abilities. Our modes of communication are sometimes restricted to furiously surfing a dictionary and pointing out possible meanings or wildly gesticulating an idea and creating appropriate sound effects. Sometimes I think it is more fruitful to work with someone you do not really understand at first glance than with people you can gauge well. It produces things that are either mundane or wonderful but always worth while in some sense as a qualitative study.
