The illusion of communication

Recently, my friend’s son wanted a Ravens jersey for his birthday, so the boy’s grandmother offered to get it for him, and asked him which player he liked.

A few days later, the jersey arrived at the boy’s house.

A few days after that, the grandmother called the father. “Did Johnny get the jersey?”

“Yes, didn’t he thank you for it?”

“No. I haven’t heard from him.”

The father went to his son, saying “You have to thank your grandmother for your birthday gift.”

“But I did,” the boy said.

“She said you didn’t”

“I did thank her! When she asked me which one I wanted…last week. Uuuughhh!”

As the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”