Discussion Stack

A stack is a data structure used in information technology to store context in a specific way. One example would be a settings application, where you have a view and select an item. Then a new list of options related to the selection is given. The old view frame is stored in a stack. The new view is stacked on top. After applying the needed settings, you can go back - which pops the last item on the stack and presents the foremost.

In deeper discussions, this concept can be applied too. As one discusses about a specific topic, someone might mention something different which creates a new discussion trail - or communication stack level. Which is then discussed for a while before going back to the previous topic. If both people like talking about things a lot, it often happens that one takes a turn several times in the discussion and suddenly talk about a whole different topic.

After a fruitful discussion, I like to pop the communication stack back to the topic we came from and ask “How did we get here?” As this returns you to the discussion you started - which you can then finish or just think “Wow, weird trail we took there”.