Matthieu Orphelin, the spokesperson for the Nicolas Hulot Foundation, sort of cracked up at the end of the first negotiation week, imagining what the world would sound like if people talked all day like in a COP draft agreement… square brackets included. Every pair of brackets is an option that competes with other options to make it into the final agreement. When it is not a whole article or paragraph that is awaiting validation.
Let’s imagine using the same system to, say, set an appointment.
On se voit quand ? Option 1 [at 8pm], [as soon as possible], [hour will be reviewed according to science] Option 2 no text #ParleCommeàlaCOP
— Matthieu ORPHELIN (@M_Orphelin) 5 Décembre 2015
What would it look like in everyday life?
In Love
[Hello [love] [dear] [ex]
[I loved you, but not because of the [love] [friendship] [lust] [desire] [hate] you showed [me] [my person].] Many [men] [women] [people] show me [love] [friendship] everyday! I was seduced by your [sweet words] [empty promises] [charming voice]: I had met so many [smooth talkers] [narcissistic guys] before, and they had not managed to [distract me] [amuse me] [bore me to death] [like you do].
[I love you] [I do not hate you] [I-Hate-You]
On a job interview
I just [had] [suffered] [three interviews] [four appointments] with [managers and consultants] [buffoons] [interns] of your company.
[Every time] [On several occasions] [Once], [I felt like working with the person I was meeting] [I did not feel at all like working with the person I was meeting] [I just felt like leaving].
[Whether you decide to [recruit me] [negotiate] [fire me]], I will [remember] [shortly forget] the [advice] [jokes] [insights] you provided me.”
In a discussion between kids
– [I want] [I demand] my toy [[now] [please]]!
– [No] [Yes but] [Maybe, but] it is [mine] [mine [mine] mine] [not yours]
– Why don’t you [take the other one] [just go], I own [this one] [everything]
– [Nooooooo!]
At the coffee machine
[[I will have] [I will have] [an Espresso] [an American] [a double Espresso] [with sugar] [black] [with stevia].]
[I’ll have the tomato soup.]
Author: Adrien Saumier
Adaptation: Annelise Meyer
