It is common in lecture theaters for groups of friends to form clusters among themselves. For example, the following figure shows an example of such cluster:
1234567890
-YFFF--SS-
Legend:
Y = You
F = Friend
S = Stranger
The figure depicts a row of 10 seats in a lecture theater. Lecture theaters normally consists of many rows, but for simplicity, we shall ignore the other rows. In reality, you can also form clusters with people sitting in front or behind you.
In the figure above, there are two clusters being formed:
- You and 3 of your friends, and
- 2 strangers
A cluster of two people is usually interesting, especially in the Asian society where the concept of personal space is highly valued. In a cluster of two people, we have two different scenarios:
- The two of them know each other (as friends/lovers/partners, etc), or
- The two of them are strangers.
The first scenario is not uncommon. The second scenario, on the other hand, rarely happens. This is especially so when the lecture theater has a high supply of empty seats. For example, consider the worst case scenario:
1234567890
S--S--S--S
In such a scenario, you have no choice but to sit next to a stranger, forming a cluster of two with him/her. However, this scenario is rare in the first place.
On the other hand, suppose the lecture theater has the following configuration:
1234567890
F--S--S--S
Unless you have a compelling reason (e.g. your friend is very fidgety and always distracts you during lecture), you will tend to choose seat 2, as you will form a cluster with your friend.
Suppose now you have the following configuration:
1234567890
--S-------
Normally you would have chosen to sit either on seat 1, or any seats after 5. This is because if you choose to sit either on seats 2 or 4, you will be sitting next to the stranger, forming a cluster of two people with him/her.
With the abundance of seats being available, there must be a good reason for you to sit at that particular place. Since it is very unlikely that seats 2 or 4 are the best seats (they are after all at the side of the lecture theater), the only reason available must have been with the stranger, i.e. there must be something about the stranger that makes you sit next to him/her.
The above situation has a totally different outcome if the lecture theater has the following configuration:
1234567890
F-S-------
In this case, you will most likely sit on seat 2, as you will be sitting next to your friend, leading to the following configuration:
1234567890
FYS-------
It does not matter much that there is a stranger sitting next to you, as the fact that you are sitting next to your friend more than makes up for it.
The problem comes when your friend decides to walk out halfway of the lecture, which leaves you and the stranger forming a cluster of two people:
1234567890
-YS-------
As mentioned above, the reason how this configuration would happen is usually when there is something about the stranger. If you and the stranger are both boys or both girls, the situation is usually not that bad.
But what happens if you are a boy, and the stranger is a girl? This can be misunderstood by the stranger that you are trying to get close to her. Again, the fact that Asian societies usually regard personal space highly adds more conviction to this presumption.
So if you are the boy, what would you do?
- Stay on the seat next to the girl, knowing fully well that the only reason why you are sitting there is because your friend was sitting next to you, or
- Move to another seat (1 or anywhere after 5), which may leave the girl to think that something is wrong with her (she might have body odour, she might not be attractive, etc).
If you are the girl, what would you want the boy to do?
Do let me know of what you think.
PS: It’s amazing how AI and Data Mining module can teach you how to see the world around you in a different perspective.
