The Pedestrian

The Pedestrian

Share this post

The Pedestrian
The Pedestrian
On Hitting an Old Woman With My Electric Scooter in Highgate Village

On Hitting an Old Woman With My Electric Scooter in Highgate Village

Some details of the incident have been changed in order to protect the author’s identity should the matter be brought to court.

William Guppy's avatar
William Guppy
Jul 04, 2021
∙ Paid
27

Share this post

The Pedestrian
The Pedestrian
On Hitting an Old Woman With My Electric Scooter in Highgate Village
4
1
Share

If a writer is to convince his reader of his way of thinking it is indispensable that he first define his terms. The reader, should he start off with any distorted understanding of the concepts which the author intends to lay out, is apt to fall into misunderstandings. As clear as the speaker’s words may be, and as attentive as his interlocutor might be in listening to them, if each participant begins from a different pole of meaning they cannot but fail to come to a mutual understanding. Worse, they may walk away from the exchange with an entirely new, strange idea which neither person wished to communicate, believing erroneously that what is now rattling around in their head is precisely what the other wished to say. 

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to The Pedestrian to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 William Guppy
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share