Why is it that people have not yet adopted the simple rules of walking etiquette? When you are walking down a crowded New York street and you want to get out of the way of an oncoming pedestrian, you are supposed to veer to the right. TO THE RIGHT, people. Like when you’re driving. Get it? Good. Now pass that information to everyone you see today. Thanks.
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18 responses to “Rants o’ Mine”
A five minute search didn’t reveal the original source I’m going to cite, but it’s in The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki. He argued (or at least cited a study that argued) that in a crowded city like New York City, people have, on their own, solved what is essentially a co-ordination problem by picking up on the visual cues of the people coming towards them and, in an instant (actually, multiple instances) figured out which way people were going to go and weaved accordingly.
I’ve never been to NYC–not true, I was there on a layover, but that doesn’t count, and I don’t remember it–but in other words, the etiquette is in fact *not* to veer to the right but rather to be alert and simply veer out of the way. This is a problem that is solved millions of times a day: it’s so crowded and so *unpredictably* crowded that a straight line is most often not the fastest way to get somewhere, but rather the fastest way is to be able to agree amongst yourselves within fractions of seconds using no words at all and almost no organization at all.
Turns out that humans seem to be hardwired to do this beautifully. Otherwise you would never get anywhere.
A five minute search didn’t reveal the original source I’m going to cite, but it’s in The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki. He argued (or at least cited a study that argued) that in a crowded city like New York City, people have, on their own, solved what is essentially a co-ordination problem by picking up on the visual cues of the people coming towards them and, in an instant (actually, multiple instances) figured out which way people were going to go and weaved accordingly.
I’ve never been to NYC–not true, I was there on a layover, but that doesn’t count, and I don’t remember it–but in other words, the etiquette is in fact *not* to veer to the right but rather to be alert and simply veer out of the way. This is a problem that is solved millions of times a day: it’s so crowded and so *unpredictably* crowded that a straight line is most often not the fastest way to get somewhere, but rather the fastest way is to be able to agree amongst yourselves within fractions of seconds using no words at all and almost no organization at all.
Turns out that humans seem to be hardwired to do this beautifully. Otherwise you would never get anywhere.
Also, Sweetie, your system is biased against those of us who cannot tell our left from our right. Be. Cause. We’re. Drunk.
Finally, where the hell have you been? You don’t write, don’t call, no texts, no dodgeball. I was starting to worry.
Also, Sweetie, your system is biased against those of us who cannot tell our left from our right. Be. Cause. We’re. Drunk.
Finally, where the hell have you been? You don’t write, don’t call, no texts, no dodgeball. I was starting to worry.
Still here, baby. A tad tipsy at the moment, but still here.
Still here, baby. A tad tipsy at the moment, but still here.
aw, come on chica–where’s the Tipsy Posting?!
aw, come on chica–where’s the Tipsy Posting?!
Maybe they’re all from the UK or Japan. Those folks are used to passing on the left.
Maybe they’re all from the UK or Japan. Those folks are used to passing on the left.
“the etiquette is in fact *not* to veer to the right but rather to be alert and simply veer out of the way”
Okay — I’ll allow this too, but from the trenches here on the busy streets of NYC, I don’t see many “alert” folks out there as I walk to work in the morning. Bunch o’ morons. And apparently at night, from what my boy MT tells me, everyone’s too drunk. Or at least just him.
🙂
And I’ll leave the drunk posting to Alexis for the time being. At least for the moment, I have a “no blogging while drunk” rule, which may be subject to revision at some point. Could make things much more interesting around here . . .
“the etiquette is in fact *not* to veer to the right but rather to be alert and simply veer out of the way”
Okay — I’ll allow this too, but from the trenches here on the busy streets of NYC, I don’t see many “alert” folks out there as I walk to work in the morning. Bunch o’ morons. And apparently at night, from what my boy MT tells me, everyone’s too drunk. Or at least just him.
🙂
And I’ll leave the drunk posting to Alexis for the time being. At least for the moment, I have a “no blogging while drunk” rule, which may be subject to revision at some point. Could make things much more interesting around here . . .
I take it somebody veered to the left!!!
I take it somebody veered to the left!!!
So that’s why blogs are good. You have someplace to say the things I think at least 500 times a day. Another thing, Mr. Walker, if you are going to change course to avoid interecting another’s course, anyway, why not do it so you go behind them, not try to beat them in front.
So that’s why blogs are good. You have someplace to say the things I think at least 500 times a day. Another thing, Mr. Walker, if you are going to change course to avoid interecting another’s course, anyway, why not do it so you go behind them, not try to beat them in front.
Yeah. And use your turn signals, dammit.
Yeah. And use your turn signals, dammit.