I was sitting in the foyer of my Psychology building in undergrad just after my final exam. It was actually my final, final exam in Psychology. I'd have my degree in 2 weeks. My brain hurt.
I had studied and crammed all the Freudian crap I could bare. And finally, it was done. As I let my brain melt back to the original mush it was before, I watched people using the vending machines across from me.
I found it amusing because one of the machines was rejecting dollar bills left and right. What a picky machine. But it made for good entertainment. One after another, hungry snackers were shunned from this fickle keeper of treats. They'd try several times to get their dollar to gain acceptance, but no! No bill was good enough.
Three or four people had fought with the machine and walked away empty handed when another contender arrived. After inserting his bill, he soon realized the fate of those before him. But then, he had an idea. A simple one at that.
He went to the machine next to the fickle one, inserted his bill (this one was less OCD and took his bill on the first pass), then punched the "refund" button. Out billowed 4 premium quarters. Quarters which the fickle-bill machine gladly accepted in place of the wrinkled note. What a great idea.
Right there in front of everyone was a currency-converter. Only problem was, they saw it as just another vending machine.
The thing I learned in college: never underestimate the education you receive by simply observing. It was worth more than a degree in Psychology (or Marketing).
2 comments:
You make a good point about the things you learn by observing others being more important than classroom learning. But if you're talking about Don Riley's class, that's a different story...
Well, observing him was pretty awesome too. I learned to 1. never straddle a chair while lecturing a class. It just looks bad. and 2. Never wear knitted holiday sweaters. This also looks bad.
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