Personal Space: Knowing When to Back Off and Come Closer

You can be an enemy or a friend depending on where you stand.

Photo from Bradley Gordon’s flickr

When a stranger came shoulder to shoulder out of a sudden, a person’s natural response is to protect herself and her belongings. Some will cast a hazy stare. Men may push him off without haste. This is because strangers are not welcome to enter our personal space.

Personal space is claimed territory around us. It is described as an “imaginary bubble”; and serves as an extension of our self. We are wary to people coming close to us. In situations where we are forced to crowd, we become uncomfortable. This is the reason co-riders in elevators are quiet.

People whom we have intimate relationships, be it friends or family, are permitted to invade our space. And at certain instances, we allow strangers to enter and shake hands or dip cheeks; but this is a brief contract of consent. A swift kiss from an acquaintance is alright but it’s a violation if it took minutes.

It is rude to strand next to someone and you’re too deep inside his personal space; but it is equally rude to be too away.

Culture defines a difference in personal space. Westerners generally have wider personal space compared to Asians because west people are more individualistic; and thus demand more territory. People from United States, Canada and England require the largest personal space.

Aside from geographical influences, men have broader comfort zones than women. People from the higher class of society expect more personal space. And understandably, victims of abuse need more space.

In social interactions, people should adjust to the demands of each other’s personal space. No matter how sincere your compliments are, it is the emotion you made them feel that they’ll remember. If you’re too far away, you’re aloof. If you’re too close, you’re overwhelming. Make sure you’re in the right ground to grant yourself a better impression.

It is hard to mentally calculate every person’s unique space requirements. We won’t know the history of our acquaintances either. But their behaviors will tell when we’re not at the optimal position. These signs include stepping forward or stepping back, clenching fists, covering the top lip, and leaning. Be aware of how they react.

What are your simple behaviors when people you’re interacting with are too far or too close?

Sources:
Personal Space: Why Two Can Be a Crowd; Excelle
5 Signs you are invading my personal space; Ethical Behavior

Blood Vs Oil

Both are necessary to do some work.
by Chris Demas

Photo from photoXpress

When it comes right down to it, part of the reason we invent new devices is to avoid having to do extra work. The phone is a tool used to connect two people together without having to make them travel to one another. If they need to travel we have the car that can move them long distances without making them walk or exert themselves. Are we making ourselves obsolete? Is that notion a bad thing?

After all, we created machines to help us with everyday tasks. And while sometimes this knocks a person out of a job it makes the people using the machine quite happy. Let’s look at the automatic teller machine or atm. It’s convenient and in many cases harder to rob. The atm is also capable of taking care of strings of people with their financial needs and doesn’t get tired. Also, while you may no have a personal emotional experience with it, the machine  will give you the same service it gave the last person.

On the other hand, machines make awful mistakes sometimes that a human could probably fix on the spot. Machines can’t give you that interaction that a friendly employee can. And having to deal with a machine when it comes to returns is the worst kind of hassle. Obviously machines aren’t perfect and can malfunction at the strangest times. But do occasional glitches matter when the machine for the most part is handling your light work?

I love human interaction and I’m sure you do too. There is a pleasant feeling when you go to the mall and can be directed around by the help desk and don’t have to memorize a map. It feels good in those rare times when you return a product and the staff is friendly with you while offering good service. It can be incredibly satisfying to hear “have a nice day” after purchasing!

Does human interaction outweigh the idea of mechanical convenience? Do I go to the cashier or the self-checkout? Will the people inside Bank of America be jealous that I gave their atm machine more attention than the human employees inside the bank? What do you think? Are we ourselves becoming more obsolete or do we just use machines for our light work?

More from Chris in ChrisDemas.com

What If.. You Sell a Body

What if you sell a human body to a chemist..

Photo from photoXpress

Lets say, we will sell this man. How much will a chemist buy him? Is he worth more than the money on his hands?

Chemists can put a price tag on a person by breaking him down to his elemental composition. A human body is approximately composed of the following:

• 65% Oxygen
• 18% Carbon
• 10% Hydrogen
• 3% Nitrogen
• 1.5% Calcium
• 1% Phosphorous
• 0.35% Potassium
• 0.25% Sulfur
• 0.15% Sodium
• 0.15% Chlorine
• 0.05% Magnesium
• 0.0004% Iron
• 0.00004% Iodine

Given the elements in him and how much they are sold in the market, this man, along with all of us humans, are worth $1.

$1 huh? Hard to believe that Justin Bieber’s album costs more than you. The richest man in the world, Carlos Slim Helu, has a total net value of $63.3 Billion. Apparently, he can buy the whole human race for $7 Billion and still maintain the majority of his fortune. But that was just in the chemical point of view. And you can’t possibly create a person out of those elements – it doesn’t work backwards.

You could actually bargain an increase of your worth. Your skin could be sold at $0.50 per square foot, adding an additional $3.50 to your worth so wholly, you are just $4.50 chemically speaking.

All that information came from Dr. Helmenstine’s Guide. I’m in no position to verify its accuracy but it came from someone with a PhD Degree in related sciences. It looks forthright since our body is made up of mostly oxygen, carbon and hydrogen – elements that are abundant in our environment, it seems almost free. Well, you don’t pay for the oxygen you breath.

It is spectacular to me how life can emanate from less than $5 worth. Life is really simple. And no matter how much money you’ve got, you cannot replace a person. Every person’s life is worth living, so let’s spend it well.

What else can you buy for $1?

More Moments for you:
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Sources:
World’s Richest Man; Forbes
How Much Are The Elements In Your Body Worth?; About.com

Horsemeat Maltreat

A new movement wants to breed horses for human’s consumption.

Photo from stock.xchng

The US congress lifted a bad that halts the funding of horsemeat inspections. Detract comments, of course, spurred afterwards. PETA is however not one of them.

PETA thinks that this ban purging would liberate the inhumane treatment for horses. Always controversial with their statements, they have gathered supporters and adversaries at the same time. PETA believes that the ban prompted cruel treatment and transport of horses to other horsemeat eating nations such as China, France and Mexico. So, they want to stop it through promoting the slaughter of them, in a closed warehouse, with the only choice of living to die.

I firmly believe that the re-opening of slaughter houses will not end the cruel treatment of horses when shipping to other nations. Consequently, it would induce more suffering for these robust but helpless animals. The inconvenient idea of slaughter houses is that you take the will of horses to experience living the way they are supposed to live.

Historians would agree that long ago, horsemeat was used as an essential source of human protein diet. But it became a taboo when horses became man’s companion.

Yeah, hunting horses is a natural occurrence of food cycle. At the very least, let the horses grow in the wild. Slaughter houses are against the nature because you breed horses just to die without fulfilling their innate purpose to live. So ultimately, it is against the animal rights.

Prior to the ban in 2007, slaughter houses are operating. But these slaughter houses, which are believed to save horses from cruelty, are sporting cruelty themselves to the horses as documented by the USDA even with federal inspectors surveying the area. Foreigners own most of rhese dirty houses; and they pocket the profit more than the economy. They also pose detrimental pollution to the environment. All of this is at the expense of America.

You just can’t compare the horses to chickens, turkey, pigs and cows, which are what we are consuming now. Horses take 4 years to mature; unlike, lets say chickens, which take weeks. Horses are also too famous as a symbol. They have done too much for humans across history – it moved us, it won us victories. We can’t afford a shift of perception from the immensely friendly horses into merely food.

Economically speaking, horse meats have high opportunity cost. They have a lot of uses to be put into waste– in transportation, in farms and their ecological contribution; and expensive for environment and materials for production.

But it will come down to us. Would you want to consume a horsemeat?

More Moments for you:
Creepy Island of the Dolls
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Sources:
Horse slaughterhouses may return to U.S.; The Washington Post
Horse slaughter in Texas and everywhere else should be against the law; Star-Telegram

Offense Defense: Your Chosen Side?

People can be offensive, defensive or in-betweener.

Photo from photoXpress

Adherence to any of the opposing poles, offense and defense, is revealing to the character of a person. It shows how you approach a challenge. Both sides are used as a tactic to win in situations such as in games or in debates, but is one more advantageous compared to the other?

The aggressive player will choose offense; defense is the strategy of the mire but sure strategist; the safe person will say neither; and the wise man will say it is the combination of both. I’d say a truly prudent contriver will take the situation into account where the offense or defense strategy will depend. We’ll look at examples of the varying situations I’m talking about.

In Sports

For sports, lets say Badminton, you wouldn’t win without attacking. If you’re keen on just receiving and you keep in mind of the best ways to deflect an attack, you keep on scoring by chance. So in these physical sports, offensive is the canny side.

In a mentally dominating sport like chess, defense could be the key. After all, the ultimate goal of the player is defending the king. You actually win the game by having the most robust defense on your king.

In Arguments

Well, it is perhaps inherent and instinctual for each person to want winning an argument. It uplifts the ego, and feeds your pride. But the danger here is that you may keep on pushing your offensive propositions, even after knowing that you are wrong or your argument was weaker compared to the other.

Arguments and discussions are complicated indications. An offensive strategist may resort into fallacies, and actually attack the person of the claim (Ad Hominem). In that way, the argument becomes dangerous because you are attacking the character of the person instead of the arguments itself. Defensive strategists are also susceptible to fallacies, so it is critical to be wary of it.

In Trial

I’m not a law expert but I know offense and defense applies here. This is an example of how these two strategies should depend on the situation. Naturally, the accused would defend his innocence, and the accuser will attack his suspect with valid claims.

 

There is a possibility of a wise man choosing the both sides. You might have heard of the adage “the best defense is a good offense”; and thus masking the intention of offense through hefty defense. This offensive defense style has claimed wild support from business, team coaches and avid players. But there is another end of the combination of two.

In defensive offense, frisky offense is actually done in the name of defense.  You won’t let the opponent have the opportunity to attack you by attacking them first and serially. This is the less humble, more infamous combination; but you as a person will choose which works for you.

What is your chosen side?

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