Segregated

It was going on for many days then. And I observed a pattern. We had daily tests to appear in and we studied late in the night in the computer labs. There were several labs, each assigned to one batch. There were guys who would start discussing things with colleagues, mostly related to studies, loudly. I had two options: either to ask them to be quiet, or to leave. To tolerate them was not happening as I needed much concentration for the difficult subject matter. I realized that asking them to be quiet won’t really help because bound by their habit; they would get into discussions again. And I didn’t want to suffer in discomfort and annoyance. So I left the lab and entered another one assigned for another batch.

I found that there were many like me who had taken a refuse in that lab. And that lab was pretty quiet. That made me think. The loud-guys will force the behaved-guys to quit their designated labs. After some time, all the behaved-guys would accumulate in the other quieter labs, while the loud-labs would become dominated by the loud-guys. In that situation, if one behaved-guy is trapped, he would have no option but to leave. Was my experience a simulation of the real world?

Birds of same feather flock together. Guys with similar nature would hang around amongst themselves. If this goes on without social interruption, the anecdotes like, “Know a man by his company” would stand true. But in my opinion, world is at a loss in this arrangement. When people of different natures mix, they also influence each other. With such segregation, there would be little chance for them to know and learn from each other. Is there a way out? I think in organized environments, there is still a way out. In my experience, if there was an invigilator he would discourage the loud-guys and would ask them to behave. But in real life, we seldom get to have instructors and invigilators. Our conscience would help, but only if we care.

- Rahul