6 ms·

"Hey, do you mind watching my stuff for a minute?" works pretty well. This is normally on a train or a library, and when there's someone around who doesn't loo

• wyclif 16y ago
  That's especially good with cute girls. Doesn't sound like a line (because it isn't), and often starts a conversation when you return.
  • zemanel 16y ago
    +1 for geeks with social skills
  • mootothemax 16y ago
    That's especially good with cute girls And because the girl's cute, she's sure to be honest! OK, so it's horrible to be so paranoid, but c'mon - you're trusted a stranger with a lot of money. Would you stop someone in the street, point to $500 lying on the street, ask them the same and expect them to still be there when you come back?
    • cjg 16y ago
      The difference in liquidity and fungibility of cash and laptops means that people would behave differently in the two situations. Most people know what to do with $500. Most wouldn't have a clue what to do with a stolen laptop, and wouldn't want to.
      • mootothemax 16y ago
        Most wouldn't have a clue what to do with a stolen laptop, and wouldn't want to I sincerely hope that most wouldn't want to :) When it comes to what to do with a stolen laptop though, c'mon, it's a laptop, it's not like you've left them with an audiophile's wet dream of a $500 amplifier tube.
        • btilly 16y ago
          You would be amazed at how many people don't know how to use a Linux laptop that has its screen locked and its disk encrypted.
          • mootothemax 16y ago
            I think you would be amazed at how many would still give it a try.
    • BrandonM 16y ago
      > you're trusted a stranger with a lot of money "A stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet." - Will Rogers The term stranger is a useful tool to prevent children from trusting shifty individuals. As an adult, calling people strangers seems to me to be a good way to live in fear and fail to meet interesting new people. Most people are basically good.
      • anovaskulk 16y ago
        No, most people are not basically good, not really. It is an illusion of goodnes that they give off, due to their indifference, and their going with the flow. If the flow is good, the illusion is maintained, and all is well. But when push come to shove, they will show how little they really care.
        • Confusion 16y ago
          You're more pessimistic about people than their behavior in day-to-day reality warrants. We're not worried about intrinsic goodness, nor about goodness in extreme circumstances. We're only worried about effective goodness in normal circumstances. Can you ask someone to watch your stuff? Yes, you can. Whatever the reason, the vast majority of people can be trusted in the vast majority of circumstances. There are few that will simply let someone take your stuff when you ask them to watch it for you. when push come to shove Push doesn't come to shove. When someone threatens them, they may as well have threatened you. When there's a sudden flood, accident or any other unlikely incident, then you're often no worse off having someone else watch your stuff.
          • lutorm 16y ago
            I basically agree with you, but don't think you should worry about someone else coming and taking the laptop. It's the person you asked to watch it that knows you are gone, if anyone, it's they that would get up, take the laptop, and go. But I think that risk is fairly small if you pick the right person. Ideally someone else with a laptop. They're likely not going anywhere, and they clearly already have a laptop...
          • 16y ago
    • smallegan 16y ago
      I am sure there is some correlation that can be made between cute girls and trustworthiness!
      • snth 16y ago
        Yes, a negative correlation :)
    • btilly 16y ago
      Actual experiment carried out in the 90s. Researchers left wallets on the street in various cities, with $100 each, and with sufficient ID to let someone mail it back. They got almost all of the wallets back, and the vast majority still had the $100. Many had notes along the lines of, "You're lucky I was the one who found this. Most people around here would have just taken the money." The lesson that I took from this is that most people can be assumed to be honest most of the time. The dishonest minority stands out. But yes, in the situation you describe I'd be willing to bet that the $500 would still be there when I came back.
• lelele 16y ago
  > "Hey, do you mind watching my stuff for a minute?" works pretty well. It works pretty well with people who are street-smart enough and really care about other's possessions. I once trusted my purse to a friend of a friend because I had to go on stage to act. When I returned, my purse was hanging from her chair, unwatched. So, it's not about honesty, it's about people really caring about your gear and being able to look after it. Environment matters, too. That time it was a crowded place. A library it would be different.
  • thingie 16y ago
    Well, it had already happened to me, that someone asked me to look after his stuff and that he will be right back. And then… time went on. And I had my own business and couldn't wait (On a train, you have to get off, for example, that gives you no solution). What then? I've agreed to watch your stuff for a minute, maybe two, maybe even a few more. But not for half an hour. I would just leave, what else can I do (ok, ask someone else to carry on with the duty, silly).
    • lelele 16y ago
      Yes, one should consider such an issue too. Thanks for sharing. However, in my case, she was still there because she had been watching us play and afterward we went to a pub all together. I just wanted to say that either she didn't care or she trusted too much other people.