Expectations

Picture, if you will, a cafeteria at a college during any given meal. A student finds a seat with some of his friends and notices there are some unfamiliar faces at the table. He introduces himself, of course. "What's your major?" One of them asks. A harmless question, usually. "Math." He answers. "Oh yeah? What's 274 times 1823? You can do that in your head, right?"

I'm not sure this specific scenario has ever actually played out in my experience, but I have dealt with similar expectations several times. The idea that someone can perform such equations is not unreasonable, but the question I ask is, do they want to? Especially when they're sitting down for a meal, possibly directly before or after a class. Of course, this unfair demand is not exclusive to the math major; the history major may be asked who was president in a given year; a theatre major asked to recite an obscure piece of Shakespeare; A kinesiology major asked to... Umm... Hmm. Nothing comes to mind. (Just kidding! I love you, kines majors!)

The problem isn't limited to college, either. We (Yes, I'm guilty of this on occasion too) expect that people are more than willing to entertain us with the knowledge they've gleaned from their jobs or hobbies. Truth be told, while some hobbies are amusing to share with groups, several times this is the last thing they want to do. There's nothing wrong with sharing your hobbies, mind you, but expecting someone to perform on demand is, in a word, rude.

So, why am I posting about this? Partially because I like complaining. But! Also because it's something I believe should be addressed. This is a specific instance of a general occurrence - unfair expectations being placed on an individual. Instead of these expectations, we should explore each other's interests and talents, without forcing someone into becoming a performer to suit your needs.

So, there's a somewhat serious post. What do you think? More of this kind of thing? Less? More cowbell? Let me know.

Three random thoughts:
1. I'm still sick. This is disappointing to me.
2. Church was fantastic yesterday.
3. The internet can be a scary, scary place. This is a good and bad thing.