B As In Boy

I've always said that verbal communication ranks higher than text-based in terms of the information conveyed. On the whole, I think that's true, but there is one area where text is indisputably superior to any other means. When you need to relate a name, an address, a number or any other thing where every single little syllable must get through perfectly, you can't beat a text or email. Of course, it remains possible for there to be a typo. One must be vigilant, as in all things.

I was just thinking about the particular brand of verification that we all relied on and which still is employed in situations where one really cannot transmit a text (a good example of which would be when one has to call a government office. I am certain that the technology will reach them in some twenty years). What your typical person will do is offer a word which begins with the letter in question, and it must be a word which cannot possibly be confused with any other. "It's Boyle Street. B as in boy, O as in Oprah..."

It seems to me that they have a different, more humorless system in the military. Anyone who has seen a war movie probably will be able to effectively practice this system. "Bravo, Oscar, Yankee..." On film sets, the person who does the slate before each shot will announce the shot and take about to commence, and sometimes this system will be employed, or it might be another favored by the crewmember in question. One proceeds from A through the alphabet, and one person I recall liked to pick an animal whose name began with each one. It tended to get rather hairy towards the end of the alphabet.

I'm a little sorry that there's less and less need for such artful solutions to problems. Technology in such cases is the wet blanket robbing us of the opportunity for a little creativity. It used to be a real accomplishment sometimes to find a phone and make a call- a task which forced you to call up your every skill and ounce of energy. Now you just reach into your pocket. Where now does one find an outlet for their prowess in thinking of fun words beginning with the letters in a name or street number? I weep for future generations.