It reads like a Shia self help article, don’t lose your potential. I for one think it’s a load of shite, queuing isn’t anything to be embarrassed or annoyed with it just shows we as a society actually have manners for one another.
The “every queue is a policy failure” point is a fair enough observation!
I guess what I still like about our culture is a willingness to form a queue when a need does arise (as opposed to barging in ahead of other people as seems to be a norm in some other parts of the world). Just basic fairness!
The author makes some good points. Long queues signal infrastructure failures, and well-ordered queues show that those failures have been present for so long that people have embraced them. It doesn’t mean that those infrastructure failures should be solved (usually it’s too costly, not everything is as profitable as the author’s described Disneyworld) but those failures are there.
To add to this, queues signify mob behaviour that is shaped by peer pressure and societal expectations. Peer pressure isn’t bad in itself; it’s perhaps what made the developed world developed. But history and psychological studies have shown that people tend not to question the rationale behind that peer pressure, provided that some respected figure (a priest in the past, a political commentator/influencer today) says it’s good.
A queue is a fine thing. Sometimes first come first served, or even priority queueing based on need (!), is a better way of doing things than immediately allocating to whoever is willing to pay money until whatever it is runs out based purely on supply and demand.
Queues don’t even need to involve lost time and potential as we can operate queues without the participants having to actively wait in them whilst doing nothing else. This is particularly true with smart queueing now that everybody has a device in their pocket that can update them on their position in the queue in real time.
However The Queue specifically is a particular, erm, social quirk.
Could’ve had the balls to move her through the country by rail, given most an opportunity to pay respects. Dignitaries could’ve paid respects in Westminster still, and would’ve been traditional too.
5 comments
It reads like a Shia self help article, don’t lose your potential. I for one think it’s a load of shite, queuing isn’t anything to be embarrassed or annoyed with it just shows we as a society actually have manners for one another.
The “every queue is a policy failure” point is a fair enough observation!
I guess what I still like about our culture is a willingness to form a queue when a need does arise (as opposed to barging in ahead of other people as seems to be a norm in some other parts of the world). Just basic fairness!
The author makes some good points. Long queues signal infrastructure failures, and well-ordered queues show that those failures have been present for so long that people have embraced them. It doesn’t mean that those infrastructure failures should be solved (usually it’s too costly, not everything is as profitable as the author’s described Disneyworld) but those failures are there.
To add to this, queues signify mob behaviour that is shaped by peer pressure and societal expectations. Peer pressure isn’t bad in itself; it’s perhaps what made the developed world developed. But history and psychological studies have shown that people tend not to question the rationale behind that peer pressure, provided that some respected figure (a priest in the past, a political commentator/influencer today) says it’s good.
A queue is a fine thing. Sometimes first come first served, or even priority queueing based on need (!), is a better way of doing things than immediately allocating to whoever is willing to pay money until whatever it is runs out based purely on supply and demand.
Queues don’t even need to involve lost time and potential as we can operate queues without the participants having to actively wait in them whilst doing nothing else. This is particularly true with smart queueing now that everybody has a device in their pocket that can update them on their position in the queue in real time.
However The Queue specifically is a particular, erm, social quirk.
Could’ve had the balls to move her through the country by rail, given most an opportunity to pay respects. Dignitaries could’ve paid respects in Westminster still, and would’ve been traditional too.