Wing Nuts

[mgc1961]

True story, submitted by Slate reader KB: A man tries to cut to the front of a line of delayed passengers at San Diego airport. When the ticket agent tells him to get to the back of the line, he says—you guessed it—"Don't you know who I am?" In response to the inquiry, the agent picks up the public-address microphone. "Excuse me for the disturbance," she says. "But we have a gentleman here who does not know who he is. If anyone recognizes this man and can help him, please raise your hand, and the people around you will hold your place in line."

This story, which we feel as if we may have heard before, is just one of many great ones from Slate readers. Apparently, we're all amateur anthropologists. My call to the Slate community to identify the personality types on display during flight delays brought out the Margaret Mead (or, rather, the Jane Goodall) in you. I've taken your stories, mixed them, and added some flourishes of my own based on personal experience, literary license, and hokum. What follows is the official Slate catalog of personality types that present themselves during moments of airline discomfort and delay.


More at http://www.slate.com/id/2252135

[RandomThoughts]

1. Interesting. Let me add one.

The person notices some anthropologist is watching, and messes with all his observational data, by also having fun and a great laugh, as the anthropologist tries to categorize and figure out the person, instead of thinking about the things critically.


Note that in the explanation of decision making, and graphs, one possible existence is lab existence, so for that reason decisions have to have some variety.


Then again, when any of us try to figure out all those fake news stories, aren't we just doing the same thing?

[mgc1961]

2. I've seen all of those types and then some.

In 24 years of working at the airport, I've collected quite a few memories of people acting in a variety of ways regarding delays, ticket purchases, seating assignments, international travel, lost property, etc... Most people were likable, even admirable. Some, not so much.