The phone rang.
Herbie Hancock, barely out of music school,
answered.
-Hello?
-It's Miles, a husky and soft voice answered.
Herbie laughed and said: -Yeah, man, sure you are!
-You're the young piano player that's been
gigging around, yeah?
-Well, yeah. You're really Miles? Miles Davis?
-I like your touch man. Can you make
rehearsal tomorrow? I've got some new stuff
I wanna try out.
Herbie made a mental note of where and when
but before he could thank Miles for asking him
to join the band, Miles had hang up.
As in a daze Herbie put the receiver back
in its cradle.
''You have a nice touch'' Miles had said
and repeating those words to himself
he could feel himself
smiling all the way from deep inside
to the outside of his being.
(This is just my interpretation of a story I've been told.)
Strangely as it may perhaps seem, touch is a very
important and highly individual aspect of being
a professional pianist.
Touch, come to think of it, I have come to realize
as discussions and news about AI pops up
here, there and everywhere may perhaps be
fundamentally more important for us humans than
we have given it credit for.
Touch, those in the know say is of vital importance
to us and belong among those of our most basic
needs. But as we seem determined to rush ''headless''
once again(atom bomb) towards a technology
that could potentially end up exterminating us, (rogue AI)
........ it may behoove us to just spend a little more time
donning our black thinking caps/hats (= potentially negative
outcomes) just in case our excitement of how
brilliant and technologically ingenious we are
manages to blind us.
In 1965, Harlow's Monkey Experiments strongly
suggested that touch is a primal need that applies
to both humans and monkeys.
Experiments/research have also been carried out that
show that the absence of touch more often than not
lead to poor physical as well as mental health.
(Unless a person suffers with an illness which
includes touching as problematic.)
Touch comes in different ''flavours'' methinks.
For instance: a touch can be light, heavy, warm,
cold, on purpose, accidental, nice, creepy,
loving, bullying, etc. etc. etc.
People who grow up in environments in which
touching of any kind is not encouraged or done,
may I suggest often tend to find touching or being
touched by others uncomfortable at times.
And vice versa....some of us are happy to
hug and touch others, to high fiving and
bump fists.
Science says that touching(the nice kind)
regulates our nervous systems,
brings down our stress levels and helps us
to build/form/create deep and meaningful
emotional connections.
Basically, perhaps one may say that though
words are very important for us in order to be able
to connect and create social bonds with each other,
so are physical actions such as handshakes,
high fives and sincere hugs.
We may even become so pre-occupied with
words that we underestimate just how
necessary and comforting a light touch
on a shoulder or hand can be for
someone who may need a little sign
of validation and appreciation.
How we touch each other physically
is in my view a fundamental choice
anchored in personal boundaries, respect,
consent and mindfulness of the other person's
cultural aspects/traditions.
''Sometimes a gentle touch
speaks volumes.''
(Citizen Z)
''After all, touch is the first language
we speak.''
(Stephen Gaskin)
about the image: ink on paper
