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Our company has a new strategic initiative
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to increase market penetration,
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maximize brand loyalty,
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and enhance intangible assets.
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In pursuit of these objectives,
we've started a new project
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for which we require seven red lines.
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I understand your company
can help us in this matter.
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Of course. Walter here
will be the project manager.
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- Walter, we can do this, can't we?
- Yes, of course.
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Anderson here is our expert
in all matters related to the drawing of red lines.
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We've brought him along today
to share his professional opinion.
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(Woman) Nice to meet you. Well, you all know me.
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-This is Justine,
our company's design specialist.
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Hello.
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We need you to draw seven red lines
all of them strictly perpendicular.
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Some with green ink
and some with transparent.
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Can you do that?
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-(pausing) No, I'm afraid we...
-Let's not rush into any hasty answers, Anderson.
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The task has been set
and needs to be carried out.
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At the end of the day, you are an expert.
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The term "red line" implies
the color of the line to be red.
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To draw a red line with green ink is,
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well, if it's not exactly impossible,
it's pretty close to being impossible.
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What does that even mean? "Impossible"
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(Women laughing)
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(Anderson) I mean it is possible there are some
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people, say, suffering from colorblindness
for whom the color of the line
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doesn't really make a difference.
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But I'm quite sure that the target audience
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of your project doesn't consist solely of such people.
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So, in principle, this is possible.
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I'll simplify. Lines as such can be drawn
with absolutely any ink.
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But if you want to get a red line,
you need to use red ink.
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-What if we draw them with blue ink?
-(Walter) Hmm. Hmm.
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(Anderson) It still won't work.
If you use blue ink,
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you'll get blue lines.
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And what exactly did you mean
when you talked about the transparent ink?
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(Woman) How would I explain?
I'm sure you know what
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transparent means.
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-Yes, I do.
-Woman: And what a red line means.
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I hope I don't need to explain to you
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(laughing)
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Of course not.
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Well. You need to draw a red line
with transparent ink.
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Could you describe what
you imagine the end result would look like?
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Oh come on, Anderson,
what have we got here? Kindergarten?
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(all talking at once)
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(Man) Let's not waste our time
with these unproductive quarrels.
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The task has been set,
the task is plain and clear.
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Now, if you have any
specific questions, then go ahead.
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You're the expert here.
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Alright, let's leave aside the color
for the moment.
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You had something there
also relating to perpendicularity.
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(Woman) Seven lines.
All strictly perpendicular.
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To what?
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(Woman) Uh... To everything...
amongst themselves.
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I assume you know
what perpendicular lines are like?
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Of course he does. He's an expert.
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Two lines can be perpendicular.
All seven can't be
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simultaneously perpendicular to each other.
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I'll, I'll show you!
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This is a line. Right?
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Yes.
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And another.
Is it perpendicular to the first line?
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-(Woman) Well...
-Anderson: Yes! It is perpendicular.
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-Woman: Exactly.
-Anderson: Wait, wait I'm not done.
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And a third one.
Is it perpendicular to the first line?
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Yes it is. But it doesn't cross the second line.
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They're both parallel. Not perpendicular.
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- Ah. Suppose so.
- There it is. Two lines can be perpendicular...
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Woman: Can I have the pen?
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(drawing noises)
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How bout this?
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This is a triangle.
It's definitely not perpendicular lines.
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And there are three, not seven.
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-(Man) Why are they blue?
-(Walter) Indeed, I wanted to ask that myself.
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I have a blue pen with me.
This was just a demonstration.
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That's the problem, your lines are blue.
Draw them with red ink.
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It won't solve the problem.
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Well, how do you know before you've tried?
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Let's draw them with red ink and then let's see, hmm?
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I don't have a red pen with me.
But I'm completely certain
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that with red ink
the result will still be the same.
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Didn't you tell us earlier that you could only
draw red lines with red ink?
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In fact, yes, I've written that down here.
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And now you want to draw them with blue ink.
And you want us to call these red lines?
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I think I understand.
You're not talking about the color now, right?
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You're talking about that, um,
what do you call it, uh, perpen- perpendic-
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(Anderson) Perpendicularity! Yes!
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That's it. Now you've confused everyone.
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So what exactly is stopping us from doing this?
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Geometry.
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Just ignore it.
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We have a task. Seven red lines.
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It's not twenty. It's just seven.
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Anderson, I understand you're a specialist of a narrow field.
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You don't see the overall picture.
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But surely it's not a difficult task
to draw some seven lines.
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Exactly. Suggest a solution.
Any fool can criticize.
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No offense. But you're an expert.
You should know better.
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Okay. Let me draw you
two perfectly perpendicular red lines.
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And I will draw the rest
with transparent ink.
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They'll be invisible, but I'll draw them.
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Would this suit us?
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Yes, this will suit us.
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Yes, but at least a couple with green ink.
Oh, and I have another question if I may.
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Can you draw one of the lines
in the form of a kitten?
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-Uh, what?
-(Justine) In the form of a kitten?
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Market research tells us
our users like cute animals.
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- It will be really great if we could...
- No...
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why?
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Look, I can of course draw you a cat.
I'm no artist but I can give it a try.
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But it won't be a line anymore,
it will be a cat.
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A line and a cat,
these are two different things.
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(Woman) A kitten. Not a cat.
But a kitten. They're little. Cute. Cuddly.
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- Cats on the other hand are...
- (Anderson) It won't make a difference.
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Anderson, at least hear her out.
She hasn't even finished speaking
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and you're already saying no.
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I got the idea. But it's impossible to draw a line
in the form of a cat - kitten.
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What about a bird?
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So where do we stop? What are we doing?
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Seven red lines, two with red ink,
two with green ink
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and the rest with transparent.
Did I understand correctly?
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- (Woman) Yes.
- (Man) Excellent. In which case that's everything, right?
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Oh, I almost forgot.
We also have a red balloon.
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Do you know if you could inflate it?
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What do I have to do with balloons?
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It's red.
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Anderson, can you or can you not do this?
It's a simple question.
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As such, I can, of course, but -
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Excellent. Organize a business trip.
We'll cover the expenses,
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go over to their location,
inflate the balloon.
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Well, this was very productive.
Thank you all.
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(indistinct talking)
(door closes)
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(door opens)
- Can I ask you one more question, please?
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When you inflate the balloon,
could you do it in the form of a kitten?
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Of course I can. I can do anything.
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I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert.