Binary Elysium

Alright, so this post is more of an excuse to play with this new Wordpress app for my Android phone, then it is me sharing a spontaneous flash of insight while sitting at gate B2 in Charlotte International.

Airports are fantastic settings for observing people interact. The field of rigid, connected chairs at the gates force people to congregate, and often the sphere of personal space is severly limited. The space is public, but groups of friends or families will treat it as private.

Interesting, how our sense of the boundary between public and private space changes when we are forced into close proximity with strangers. Consider, the young couple getting hot and bothered only a chair adjacent from me as if they’re the only people for miles, but glare at me when they notice me looking at them while typing furiously on this tiny keyboard. Apparently one empty chair on either side is sufficient space for them to consider their activity private, because as someone took the empty seat on the othe side, they stopped immediately.

The family with enough luggage to supply a small army has staked out a section of chairs, almost creating a walled fortress within which they laugh, argue, carry on as if they’re in the comfort of their own home. Then there are the two strangers sitting adjacent to eachother. Their arms share the same rest, yet for all their actions they could be in the opposite corners of the world.

Boarding has started. Hopefully this blogging app works. See you in Jamaica!