Intelligent Sensing

 There’s something that makes people pitch their voice at the level at which they can be heard just by their company when in public; and yet something which makes another person carry on as if in conversation with a hall full of listeners, oblivious of the environment.

On the way out someplace where human interaction is inevitable, there’s something that makes one person reach for a mild deodorant or use sparse amounts of whatever scent is available on themselves and yet again, something which makes another person douse him or herself with exactly the scent made purposely to leave a trail of people coughing and gasping for air in its wake and the room quivering from the sudden inability to move air around.

There’s that something which makes the person at one end of the stairway wait to let another come by and still that something that makes another chap brush past without so much as a glance and without noticing that the other person almost went toppling down the stairs.

There’s something that makes someone wash out their mouth into the basin in the communal bathroom and leave already decaying remnants of his or her last meal and spittle (to make sure the decoration sticks) in the basin; and something which makes another take great pains to leave no trace of the visit.

On a difficult day, there’s something that makes that person who walks in on me know it’s really not the best time to engage in a chit chat and take a quick leave of me; while some other person settles for a 2-person monologue in which I get to hear about his or her morning breakfast and how the cats are doing at home.

This is not about good and bad, nor is it about right and wrong. It’s just about feeling, awareness, consciousness and appropriateness. Suppose I wanted to be mischievous; I would say it’s about knowing that I am “too known” and capitalizing on that when necessary or being mindful of how my “too knowness” affects others and modifying my behavior appropriately. But since mischief is very unlike me ... well I will leave that.

I believe it’s called Emotional Intelligence and I am off to read about it. Seems like a tasty, meaty subject I should consider for my thesis. Hmm.