> The same physical arrangement happens when undergrads see a Nobel Prize winner speak. Undergrads are the paying customers in you example, so they are in char

> The same physical arrangement happens when undergrads see a Nobel Prize winner speak. Undergrads are the paying customers in you example, so they are in charge and the Nobel Prize winner is delivering a service they have paid for and his is expected to satisfy his customers! Yeah, in the bigger overall picture of life and things he's above them, but in that particular situation he's their bitch... At least this is how I always viewed my teachers, even having benefited from free higher education (and the teachers were way richer than me): they were there to satisfy my needs (for knowledge), just as the McDonals' worker was there to satisfy my need (for a burger).