areiamus

Making the noise of a high-hat is one way to pass time and lightly amuse oneself. However, it’s suprisingly annoying to others in the vicinity - something I had never realised until I heard someone doing it on the train the other day.

I will admit that I find humming disgracefully rude, in large part due to a single comment made by my father some time ago, paraphrased thus: “To whistle alone is to keep your insecure self company but to whistle in the presence of others shows an unwillingness to interact to the point of snubbing the other person. That is, you could speak with them or stand in amiable silence but you chose instead to undertake an action that effectively shuts them out of any interaction”.

Perhaps I elaborated somewhat on his statement. Nevertheless, thinking on this leads to a revelation on the disproportionate annoyance of people conducting a mobile telephone conversation in the train carriage or other public place. It’s not that they’re talking; it’s that they’re talking to someone other than you. Compare your reaction to “YEAH I’M ON MY WAY HOME FROM THE OFFICE NOW. NO, I’LL BE ANOTHER 15 MINUTES. YEAH? YEAH, YEAH, OK. YEAH.” with any conversation between two people nearby. The latter may be almost as banal (particularly if you happen to catch the train during school-kid commuter hours) but it’s less likely to provoke someone to impale the phone yeller with the blunt end of their beloved mobile.