I am often to be found striding in the wilds of Toorak Road while glued to a book. It causes no end of comments. I've been asked several times in the last month how I avoid bumping into things. The answer is that I use peripheral vision, and I do look up at the end of each sentence. It's a good exercise that helps comprehension. I also tend to stop at cross roads, and generally keep aware of my surroundings. I'm less likely to read while walking somewhere unfamiliar.
The advantage is that keeping a steady gait helps to give rhythm to one's reading, so I try to walk at just below a normal pace. My normal pace is quick in comparison to most people. I also try to keep to the side of the footpath, so people wanting to pass can do so. It's not hard to do. The downside is that some of my worst near-misses have been with cafe furniture. Such incursions in public spaces are really the height of commercial arrogance.
Reading and walking is a habit I've had since I was quite young. Survival skills get their ultimate test on a narrow footpath, as I discovered rather catastrophically at the age of 14, when I collided with a signpost on the way to a piano lesson. I wasn't hurt, and as far as I know, there haven't been any negative consequences.
There are some situations where the walk-plus-reading routine doesn't work. Navigating corridors in large buildings is one of these. Walking in a crowd, likewise. Dealing with one of those pedestrian traffic jams that happen in confined spaces is definitely one you enter without your nose in a book.
Some activity-plus-walking activities irritate me. The king of these would surely be texting. A person can be moving along at a reasonable pace until they receive a message which requires an instant response. They slow to a near-crawl, usually without moving to the left so that people can pass.
Apparently there is an iPhone app that allows you to see in front of you through the phone's camera. I think this is a little silly because it simply encourages bad manners. It would be better if the app stopped the screen working for three seconds in every ten to make you look ahead. Seeing the world through a phone camera seems like a poor substitute for actually looking.
Today I was caught in a cluster of people in a narrow corridor where the pace was being set by a young lady who was tapping away on her iPhone. The corridor was wide enough for people to pass her, but for some reason no-one did.
Eventually, I got to a point where I could pass, but the tractor-beam thing set in. I moved right, she moved right. I moved further to the left, bingo!, she anticipated. After another failed attempt at passing, I said, "Excuse me, please." The head rose from the little screen for a befuddled reply, "Sorry?" I said, "Do you know there are people behind you? It's very inconsiderate not to let them pass." She shifted out of the way, and I went on my way. Her attention shifted back to the phone, and the crowd locked step behind her...
There are two ways of looking at encounters like this. Here's one:
....and here's another -- reflecting the mindset!
No comments:
Post a Comment