Conversing (verb) - keeping each other company with each other’s thoughts. Conversations are a container for ideas just like paper or this record, and can happen from similar or contrasting perspectives.

For example, to achieve similar perspectives you could all (a) have an elevated conversation by standing on kitchen counter tops or (b) have a flat conversation by lying down on a couch or mattress and gazing at the ceiling. Similar perspectives help provide a level, and often playful, field for discussion.

(Example) Yatú sticks his foot out during an elevated conversation on our kitchen counter. Mel plays with blocks by the sink while Nico and Norm stand on chairs at the entrance. Laughs had ensued as they all rose to the occasion.

(Example) Yatú takes a photo of Norm as they converse between the mezzanine and top of the staircase, also known as the ladder of thoughts. View on are.na

To achieve contrasting perspectives you can (c) have a phone call where one person is muted while texting and the other responds by talking. Contrasting conversations take different shapes than those based on similar perspectives.

Contrasting perspectives help balance a conversation by adjusting the acceptable timescales that everyone can think within.