ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Pointing out the Extremely Obvious

Updated on July 16, 2011
This is a cat.
This is a cat.

You may be wondering why I would write a hub about pointing out the extremely obvious. If it isn't obvious to you, read on.

As a conversational starter there are planned phrases, rehearsed phrases, topics that have been learned or memorized, or very simple expressions like 'hello', or 'good morning'. A useful method that I developed was to take a note of the immediate surroundings and point something out that is very obvious, something that a person wouldn't normally pick out. By doing this you get the person you are speaking with to agree with you, which is an excellent first step in a communication. Let me give you some examples:

  • To a person with a striped shirt (white and yellow): Is your shirt white with yellow stripes or yellow with white stripes?
  • To a person holding a pen: It appears to me that you are holding a pen.
  • To a person that is with you in a park where there are some trees: That's a tree over there.
  • At work, there is a post-it note pad on the desk: You have a post-it note pad on your desk.


As you can see, the examples can go on ad infinitum. Often I will get back something like 'yes, so?' or 'why are you mentioning this' or some variation of these two. Normally if it is the first or second time that I point out the extremely obvious to that person I will say something like 'I like to point out the extremely obvious as it helps to tie me down to reality as otherwise I might float up into an ethereal plane and cease to exist'. This normally gives me an odd look, but occasionally I'll get a knowing look which makes all of this ridiculousness worth it.

Once I have pointed out the extremely obvious to the same person a few times, I no longer say that I would float away, because the person has now become accustomed to this practice. In many cases by doing this the other person retorts by pointing out something else that is equally extremely obvious.

  • Me to a person sitting at their desk: That's a chair you are sitting on.
  • That person back to me: Yes, you are wearing shoes.


Inane Hub Category?

Should there be an inane hub category?

See results

I had trouble categorizing this hub as there is no inane category. Should we lobby for one to be created?

You should try pointing out the extremely obvious at least three times within the next day after you read this hub. You can then report back here as to how it went.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)