Asking for directions
Oct. 28th, 2005 07:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
peterbirksIt's a standard joke that men will never ask for directions, preferring instead to carry on driving (or walking) blindly, in the vague hope that they will see something that they recognize.
What is rarely pointed out (well, never) is that not asking for directions is actually a rational act.
Let's turn this around. Have you ever been asked for directions? I have. A lot. It's one of the hazards of living in London, where 25% of the population were born abroad, more than 50% of the population were not born in London, and about 40% of the passers-by in the centre are tourists, who don't even live here.
And being asked for directions is not easy, even for someone who knows London inside out. Why is it difficult? Well, suppose you are travelling from point A to point M. At some random point in this journey (let's call it point F), a person comes up and asks you how to get to point X. So, mentally, you have to shift from your own journey (A to M) to another journey (F to X). Immediately, you have to ask yourself "where is X in relation to where I am now?" Because, since you are in the middle of your own journey, it isn't likely to be one of your regular starting points. You would know how to get from A to X, and how to get from M to X. But, well, F to X needs a bit of thought. Ask yourself. Could you give accurate and helpful directions to a person who stopped you in the middle of the street? It ain't easy.
And this is but part of the uphill struggle. We are assuming here that the person whom you stop to ask for directions (a) knows the area, and (b) has the ability to construct a sentence that you can understand.
In my experience of asking directions, this is about as likely as getting a lottery prize (i.e., 1 in 57). In the meantime, you have wasted a good few minutes listening to (possibly inaccurate) gibberish.
Now, what about the alternative? If you carry on driving/walking, you have a one in four chance of going in pretty much the right direction and a damned good chance of coming across somewhere that you know within a reasonable period of time.
So, the next time someone mocks you, a man, for never asking for directions (or says to you from the passenger seat "let's stop and ask that man") point out these simple facts. You know it makes sense.
++++
Paradise have come up with one of their once in a blue moon bonuses. Excellent. And Ultimate came up with ANOTHER 25% reload bonus. The trouble is, to clear Ultimate bonuses at the rate that they offer them, you basically have to play there all the time as part of an extended rakeback operation.
Oh, and Empire have come up with a "free" cash bonus. "Just play 2000 raked hands in seven days, and we'll give you $50!"
Wow. Well, like, don't call us.
What is rarely pointed out (well, never) is that not asking for directions is actually a rational act.
Let's turn this around. Have you ever been asked for directions? I have. A lot. It's one of the hazards of living in London, where 25% of the population were born abroad, more than 50% of the population were not born in London, and about 40% of the passers-by in the centre are tourists, who don't even live here.
And being asked for directions is not easy, even for someone who knows London inside out. Why is it difficult? Well, suppose you are travelling from point A to point M. At some random point in this journey (let's call it point F), a person comes up and asks you how to get to point X. So, mentally, you have to shift from your own journey (A to M) to another journey (F to X). Immediately, you have to ask yourself "where is X in relation to where I am now?" Because, since you are in the middle of your own journey, it isn't likely to be one of your regular starting points. You would know how to get from A to X, and how to get from M to X. But, well, F to X needs a bit of thought. Ask yourself. Could you give accurate and helpful directions to a person who stopped you in the middle of the street? It ain't easy.
And this is but part of the uphill struggle. We are assuming here that the person whom you stop to ask for directions (a) knows the area, and (b) has the ability to construct a sentence that you can understand.
In my experience of asking directions, this is about as likely as getting a lottery prize (i.e., 1 in 57). In the meantime, you have wasted a good few minutes listening to (possibly inaccurate) gibberish.
Now, what about the alternative? If you carry on driving/walking, you have a one in four chance of going in pretty much the right direction and a damned good chance of coming across somewhere that you know within a reasonable period of time.
So, the next time someone mocks you, a man, for never asking for directions (or says to you from the passenger seat "let's stop and ask that man") point out these simple facts. You know it makes sense.
++++
Paradise have come up with one of their once in a blue moon bonuses. Excellent. And Ultimate came up with ANOTHER 25% reload bonus. The trouble is, to clear Ultimate bonuses at the rate that they offer them, you basically have to play there all the time as part of an extended rakeback operation.
Oh, and Empire have come up with a "free" cash bonus. "Just play 2000 raked hands in seven days, and we'll give you $50!"
Wow. Well, like, don't call us.
