An odd observation...

(Mood - Terribly awake)

(Listening to - Daylight by Coldplay)

(Listening suggestion - Creep (accoustic) by Radiohead)



To all us students and muckabouts out there, I've come to an odd realization. It's not necessarily a good one, nor explanitory at all, but hear me out.

Have you noticed that there are many out there who would lock themselves up in their room, (somtimes beginning late into the evening, sometimes very early in the morning), then bolting their head to their desk, they force their eyes to "do lines" of text until their brain is mildly delirious from the influx of info that leads them to crave caffeine or collapse, giving into the body's craving to nap? I have noticed. But have you ever noticed that working in such a fashion is hardly lucrative to the learning process? In the cramming and the trying, have you ever noticed that it rarely takes well?

But then, these same people could be found at the local coffee place (take your Starbucks and shove it frankly, I'm talking REAL coffee places) where they seem to ACTUALLY work! Sure, there's still the machinations of being at a place with a never ending I.V. drip of coffee, but let's face it - the work gets done. Now the question - why?

My thought - you can't truly goof off if work is in front of you, and you're surrounded by strangers. In your office/room/etc, you can goof, you can play, you can nap, you can doodle, you can surf, you can (ahem) blog, but does the work take precidence? Not entirely. But then there's some strange enticement - if not chastizement - that, in a public place, surrounded by but not interacting with "no ones", the work flows.

I believe it's because you actually secretly think: a) these people are also doing work, therefore so must I (hell, some are even your peers, or at least other Uni students); and/or b) these people actually are paying attention to what I'm doing, and therefore I must keep up appearances of the "young intellect", or the "well-placed student", lest they should think less of me. Crazy, no? Crazy YES. True? Mayhaps!

Honestly, look at it from the other side: when you go out, with all the work done for the day, is your first thought as you casually glance round the Tim's or 2nd Cup (or better coffee spot...) "Geez, look at THAT guy... He's got SO many books, and ISN'T writing! Dammit! What a waste of a mind. How unprofessional. I'd better contact his school and tell them not to pass him." Cripes! Not in the least! At best, you're thinking "Why the hell is that guy taking up a friggin' table for FOUR?? We need that! He's alone! Senseless bastard..."

I think it's an ironic situation that most students go to "non-library public study spaces" because they have people who aren't working (and coffee - let's face it), and this activates a mix of the desire for necessary socialization and subtle "Look at me! Look at me! I'm educated!" in us that feeds the ego and refreshes our need to be part of the outside world. Studying can be a horribly hermiting situation, and with the aforementioned refreshment, I find we're more prepared to get work effectively done.

Geez, we're self-centred... Well, I know I am. :)

I dunno. It's just a weird occurance I've noticed. Oddly enough, the was noticed while sitting in a coffee shop, doodling accross a page I should be filling with theology... Uh. Yeah.

Anyway, with that rant said, more later!