Life In The Fast Lane

Why, when you're waiting for a lift (having already pressed the button), does someone always arrive after you insist on re-pressing the button?

Everyone knows that pressing the elevator button more than once in futile, including those who do it. Eventhough youve clearly pressed the button once, with the button illuminated, indicator light displayes lift's progress, someone arriving after you doesn't seem to trust you.

In all likelihood, the tiny plastic boxes attached to poles at busy intersection corners, the ones with buttons in the center and signs that read ‘Press Button and Wait for Light to Turn Green’ despite the conspicuous absence of wires connecting the box to anything controllable, to me, are dummy buttons.The button, more importantly the sign accomplishes 2 things:

• by pausing to consider the instructions, we are given time to control our suicidal, traffic-hopping impulses, and
• we are given the illusion of control where we are liable to press the button and wait for the light.

Where we had previously intended to seize control by defying the 'Don't Walk' warning and dashing into the road, we now believe that true control is at our finger tips. Even if we suspect the button is a dummy, we will probably stick around to prove ourselves right.

The list doesn't end there. There are people who honk their horns in a traffic jam as if by doing so will speed up the traffic, or refeshing the email inbox if you got no mail, and to some extend, even sending a 'test' mail to one self.

I think that part of this behaviour comes from good old fashion self reliance and to be in control, but all the same, what do you think?