Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Of Brain Waves and Acute Observations



All my time in DA-IICT, I've noticed this phenomenon. Its intriguing because I encountered it the first time in my life. Not that I'm Hugh hefner to call upon my long and illustrious life to judge, yet in the last 10 years of my life that I can remember, I've never been a part of something like this. Here it is:


People in DA-IICT smile at each other as they cross!

I do it. I've seen my seniors do it. I've seen my batch mates do it. WHY?Everytime you pass someone whom you know on first name basis, you smile! So, I decided to analyze the dynamics of it!


Why So Serious?

You've had a good night's sleep, a good bath and while walking down to the cafe you notice this junior walking in the opposite direction. At first, you're just pre-occupied in your thoughts. You're walking calmly. Looking here and there, mostly down, but never straight. Then when you are about 3 meters away, you look up. He does the same thing. You both make eye contact and SMILE!Any reason? Did you share a telepathic joke?

No. Good manners probably. You know, good citizens are supposed to spread smiles. You are in a good mood, the sky is sunny, why not smile?

Most of us use it as an acknowledgement: 'Yeah, I noticed you'. Some of us might reason with it saying "Respect! Dude!". WHY? Does he have a history of killing people who don't notice him?


Our Social Access Structure Follows Inverse Square Law

There's a theory of circles. Google+ tried to explore it. There are a class of people who have access to deeper things than others, the people whom we trust. Call them the first hop nodes, best friends, soul mates, 'love guru@91.1fm' or The Bar-tender. These are people who you would stop and talk to, 'Hey, Whats up?', maybe give a hug if you encountered in the park. 

Then there is the second circle. These are the people whom you've just talked once or twice. You know them on first name basis. You might have, at best, shared infrequent hang outs. These are the people you will smile at! The people whom you have to acknowledge presence!


To Smile Or Not To Smile 

The reason why Google+ has not been able to uproot facebook is, i feel, the theory is flawed. Yes, we do concentric circles, but the boundaries are very hazy. You're not always sure whether to smile at the other person or not. Am I that close to him / her ? Then there's the awkward moment. When you come close, look up to each other and each one is checking whether the other smiles or not. You make eye contact, wait for the other person to smile. If he / she does smile, means its safe for you to do so, otherwise - 'Damn, i'm a potato. How can I ever smile at Jessica Alba'! 

If you dig deeper, you start realizing a lot of aspects of it. See, the watchman forgot to lock the doors! One push and it all opens. 

Did you realize something similar? Something you know you do but don't know why?
  

1 comment:

  1. Hi ! Just found your blog, and it is really worth reading! I am presently in DA and can relate cent percent with your post. The confusion of whether to smile or not is never justifiable, so I have sorted out to smiling every time, it's generally never left unanswered. These are peculiar human characteristics, fun to study at times!

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