If you had to sum up tapesponding in a few words it basically boils down to talking to someone. Can such an everyday activity really be labelled a hobby?
When we meet friends in the pub or bump into a neighbour on the street, a conversation usually takes place. But we would never describe conversation as a hobby. What is so different about tapesponding? Is it the use of recording equipment that turns an everyday occurrence into something more than just talking?
Well, yes, I think it does. In a cassette tape or minidisc recording your thoughts and idea’s have been captured and fixed. That time period in your life is frozen and can be played by the recipient as often as he or she wants. This is why, sometimes, you have to be careful what you say.
Of course tapesponding is not conversation in the accepted sense. There is an in-built time delay. I am reminded of the scene in ‘2001 A Space Odyssey’ when Frank Poole, a member of the crew, speaks to his parents and the signal takes several hours to travel from earth to the remote spacecraft heading towards Jupiter.
But perhaps I am examining this from the wrong angle. Talking is only a facility we use to express ideas, discuss problems and find solutions. It’s rather like the Operating System in a computer. Not all Operating Systems are the same. Not all people speak the same language. However, language is our Operating System and forms an interface between your thoughts and the mind of the listener.
So, talking itself is just a physical act. The movement of bones, muscles and tissues. And the controlling of our breathing in such a way as to make sounds. Just as a computer is only a collection of small electrical components that happen to take us into the world of the internet. However, of all the creatures in the animal kingdom, only humans can talk.
How we perceive things is often distorted. An alien from Mars might believe tapesponding is two tape recorders swapping information with each other. A kind of vintage artificial intelligence. After all, computers ‘talk’ to each other. Of course, as humans, we know tape recorders are not an essential element for conversation. But for the alien, he believes only the tape recorder can decode what is on the tape.
Wikipedia defines a ‘hobby’ as a regular activity done for enjoyment. It can include collecting themed items and objects. It may involve engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports or pursuing other amusements. I guess tapesponding falls into the latter category. In the end we have to accept that, for tapesponders, our ‘hobby’ is just about talking to people and from that we can learn a great deal.
Copyright © 2016. David Anderson. All Rights Reserved.
Tapesponding 