4 ms·

> connecting with the people around you. For the 0.5 seconds you're next to them before you pass them or they pass you?

wolverine876 3y ago
That is plenty of time to smile, say hello, say excuse me, have a face-to-face interaction. You wave at the child staring at you, you make appropriate warm sounds toward the dog barking with its tail wagging. You all react together to the funny sight, to the ambulance, to the sun in your eyes. You also connect by just seeing what people are doing; you are out there with them. You have time and visibility to see the whole world, 360 deg x 180 deg. Also you stop, maybe at a light, maybe to look at something, and see and talk to people there. You work out a traffic issue by talking and smiling, face to face, not by honking and banging on your dashboard. You see friends and say hello. You see somebody do something nice and say 'thank you'.
- jacobgkau 3y ago
  You have an extremely romanticized idea of human interaction.
  - wolverine876 3y ago
    It's not romanticized, I do it every day. Not everyone responds but that's fine; it still has an effect, and many do respond. People assume it's not possible, that others are paranoid or bad-willed, and so treat others accordingly or at least don't try. Just try; it works fine. You need to read people and respect them - just basic primate social skill: obviously, some people are busy, upset, etc. and don't want to be bothered. But just trust people are good-willed and friendly, treat them accordingly, and you'll get plenty of good responses. It depends on your mood too; it comes through; if you are angry and trying to be happy, people can sense it - we all have years of experience reading others. Even crazier is that people will actually argue against it, insisting it can't be true, objecting to anyone doing it or trying it. You have to wonder what that's about; that, I think, is very revealing about our society and some of its social trends.

That is plenty of time to smile, say hello, say excuse me, have a face-to-face interaction. You wave at the child staring at you, you make appropriate warm sounds toward the dog barking with its tail wagging. You all react together to the funny sight, to the ambulance, to the sun in your eyes. You also connect by just seeing what people are doing; you are out there with them. You have time and visibility to see the whole world, 360 deg x 180 deg. Also you stop, maybe at a light, maybe to look at something, and see and talk to people there. You work out a traffic issue by talking and smiling, face to face, not by honking and banging on your dashboard. You see friends and say hello. You see somebody do something nice and say 'thank you'.

jacobgkau 3y ago
You have an extremely romanticized idea of human interaction.
- wolverine876 3y ago
  It's not romanticized, I do it every day. Not everyone responds but that's fine; it still has an effect, and many do respond. People assume it's not possible, that others are paranoid or bad-willed, and so treat others accordingly or at least don't try. Just try; it works fine. You need to read people and respect them - just basic primate social skill: obviously, some people are busy, upset, etc. and don't want to be bothered. But just trust people are good-willed and friendly, treat them accordingly, and you'll get plenty of good responses. It depends on your mood too; it comes through; if you are angry and trying to be happy, people can sense it - we all have years of experience reading others. Even crazier is that people will actually argue against it, insisting it can't be true, objecting to anyone doing it or trying it. You have to wonder what that's about; that, I think, is very revealing about our society and some of its social trends.