Irrational Fears

18 Jun 2007

I have this irrational fear that I am slowly becoming a vegetarian. I have a slightly more irrational fear of being consumed by a bubble. To complete the trifecta, I have a slightly less irrational fear of being suffocated in my sleep by a kitten who shall remain nameless.

Irrational is a good word. Irrational fears are the best kind to have. Especially if you yourself can recognize them as being irrational; without reason or understanding. Silly is another word for it.

Real fears are much worse. I have a few of those as well. I find myself growing more and more afraid of the state of humanity as I get older. Specifically with the rate at which seemingly unimportant things start to accumulate to the point that they do indeed then become important.

A good example of this is how people can’t follow or adhere to simple rules:

Simple things like the escalators used at SkyTrain stations. They all have arrows on them that ask you to stand to the right hand side. This allows an uninterrupted flow of people who choose to walk up the escalator along the left. When someone breaks that flow, they end up with a line of angry people behind them. That one sidestep left of the posted rules impacts tens of lives.

What about the people who light up a cigarette in the middle of 15 very clearly marked no smoking signs? It is true, that they might just have put those up because they don’t think you should smoke there around other people, but what if it’s because there is a propane line, a natural gas line and an oil line that cross underneath your feet? It’s not about personal liberties at that point. It’s about the fine art of staying alive.

Things like this have been observed for years. There are entire theories about them. The Broken Windows Theory. The Tipping Point Theory. None of them have ever been conclusively proven. This leaves me wondering if you really need proof for common sense?

All it takes is one person to leave their tray on a table in the cafeteria. Soon there will be two, then three, then four, and on and on. It simply self-multiplies. People start to wonder “If they don’t have to do it, then why do I?”

I have an answer for that question. I propose what I like to refer to as the “Dumb-Ass Principle”. You have to do it, because you’re not a dumb-ass. Consequently, if you don’t do it, then you are a dumb-ass.