Monday, 17 December 2007

Balance


I know this i oh so very petty, but I can not resist. Does people have really bad balance? An goldfish memory? Weak legs? No? Then why does people in general fall over in the subway all the time? OK, not fall over, but: any time the train changes speed, direction or elevation: almost anyone that is standing looks like a drunk drunk. And they are holding the bars! I stand in the middle holding no bars and I never loose my balance (yes, sure I have, but that's mostly when the driver panic brakes for some unseen reason).

It's really easy:

  1. When the train leaves the station: It will accelerate, generating a feeling of being pulled towards the back of the train.
  2. When the train enters the station: It will decelerate, generating a feeling of being pulled towards the front of the train.
  3. When the train turns: It will generate a feeling of being pulled towards the side opposite the turn. Once you take a subway line a few times (like every day to work and every day back home), you will notice it often turns at the same places. I think it has something to do with railway tracks being heavy and bolted to the ground. That a lot of them go through tunnels through solid rock may also add to this rater predictable behaviour.
Sorry, I had to get it off my back.

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