Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Wasting precious lunch time

I have been quite used to eating alone to the extend that I wonder why people need to eat together? I noticed that it is quite inconvenient to do so, especially ... in a crowded food court.

Looking for a cluster of 2 or more seats is much more difficult than to look for a single seat.

When found, at least one person may need to be there to prevent others from sitting there, until someone returns with his lunch. Then, some will sit there to wait to start eating together. Or, sometimes, by the time the last person returns, the others have finished eating.

Thus, many must have felt that by "chope-ing" seats using tissue is a good solution so that none in their group need to watch over the empty seats. However, this method is controversial.

In computer science, one thing we learn is that there is a trade-off between speed and space. We can save time by using more space, or save space by using more time.

The first method above is stupid because it is a waste of time and space. The second method is better as it trade-off space for time. However, this is from the particular group of eaters stand point. From the stand point of all eaters, it is still a waste of time and space!

Thus, I propose to all, if the place is crowded, don't waste time and space trying to eat together. Just queue up, buy food, sit down and eat, and hopefully, some of you still can sit next to each other.

If really want to eat together, then don't go to a crowded place.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

i like yr last statement. but i think psychologically people are not used to do that. for me, i prefer eating at non crowded places (if possible) :)

Back2Nature said...

Thanks. For me, even eating alone, I prefer non crowded places too. However, that usually implies higher prices or further distances. Thus, I go at non crowded timings :) but many don't have this luxury.

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