The Things That Come to Those Who Wait

https://www.racked.com/2018/1/17/16897160/lines-waiting-history

by pepys • 8 years ago

35 12 8 years ago

racked.com

Simulacra• 8 years ago

All good things come to those who wait.

erikb• 8 years ago

Nothing comes to a 50% page size cookie notification without an opt-out option.

muxator• 8 years ago

The first historical description of the line only appeared in 1837, in Thomas Carlyle’s The French Revolution

I grew up in a country where probably nobody has ever seen that 1837 book, and almost everyone systematically refuses the very concept of a line.

Instead, people "optimize" their way towards their target, be it the door of a public transport bus or the physician's office.

Pretending not having seen you, they literally pass sideways, over and - if necessary - under you, if you happen to be on their way for more than a couple of seconds.

Try to affirm your rights, they'll push back with twice the physical and verbal strength. Any hope for the authority to mitigate this is an illusion, because those who are in charge of enforcing the rules are expression of that same culture, and transparently dismiss any stride towards predictability as a waste of time.

Lines? A conquest of civilization, hope for a better humanity, prohibited dream!

But you can have a very good pizza almost anytime...

simonebrunozzi2• 8 years ago

You and I are probably from the same country, I'd guess.

coleifer• 8 years ago

Reminded me of: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1980/11/17/within-the-con...

lixtra2• 8 years ago

I hate lines and usually are willing to take a slightly worse serving than a long line. I appreciate if I can pay more to jump the line.

Why wait 1h if you can jump the line for 10 bucks.

simonebrunozzi2• 8 years ago

Paying is a bad incentive.

Similar example: poor government services become incentives to bribe officers to "get ahead". That's why in many government offices, inefficiency or friction is actively introduced by its officers, and doesn't just come from the top down.

weberc2• 8 years ago

Governments don't have competition in any meaningful sense, so they _only_ have bad incentives.

admiralEyebrows• 8 years ago

If I was one of the ones waiting watching someone do that would make me resent the business and find an alternative if possible.

lixtra2• 8 years ago

Fast lane sometimes exist. I saw it in the shard in London and some airports. Especially in airports it makes total sense. All those people who jump the lane with “I got to catch my flight” can finally pay for it.

bartread• 8 years ago

Reading that article felt like being stuck in a long queue. I mean, kudos for capturing the experience so viscerally I suppose, but about a third of the way through I reached a point where continuing became absolutely intolerable. :/

The Things That Come to Those Who Wait

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