Sunday 25 March 2012

On Segues and Non-Sequiturs

Some people's minds seem to work in segues.


"In journalism, a segue is a method of smoothly transitioning from one topic to another. A segue allows the host or writer to naturally proceed to another topic without jarring the audience. A good segue makes the subject change seem like a natural extension of the discussion" (Wikipedia).

Some blogs (eg Corfu Blues) are a series of segues, or changes of subject, or  jarring jump-cuts; not all can be described as featuring smooth transitions. Maybe it all makes for a perplexing kind of mosaic, or a mélange of random non-sequiturs?

Is this a typical symptom of magpie minds, of a low boredom threshold, or of a plain lack of focus and attention-deficit syndrome?

I used to long for more jarring segues (but not red herrings) in boring office meetings. Impatient divergent/lateral thinkers want to accelerate the segues. In any event, I digress.

At least musicians understand the principle.

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Some useful phrases for conversational seques and changes of subject:
German: irgendwie, jedenfalls, sowieso, trotzdem
Swedish: hur som helst
Greek: ούτως ή άλλως ,  όπως κι' να έχειεν πάσει περιπτώσει , έτσι κι' αλλοιώς

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