Thursday, March 11, 2010

21st Century Mythology

so today i want to explore two modern myths:
1) people dont read books anymore.
although the statistics surrounding the the publishing industry certainly indicate that people dont really BUY books anymore, i really dont think that people have stopped reading. i come to the library every day, and there are always shelves upon shelves of requested material waiting to be picked up. although its true that the digital age has changed communications and publishing forever, i dont think we will ever see the day that people cease picking up books altogether. though it may be true that books may take on a new form in the future (think communicator devices in star trek, which we basically have in the form of smartphones already), i dont think it means people arent reading.
2) express check out
most grocery stores have an express 1-8 or 1-16 item check out that is supposed to be faster. in theory, it should be, because everyone in the line is going to be checking out fewer items. THIS IS A MYTH. the problem is that everyone thinks this is going to be the fastest line, so even when everyone is obeying the rules and is within the number of items designated (which is often not the case, compounding the issue), the line for express is two or even three times longer than the regular lines! youre lucky to get through it in half the time it would take if you had just waited in a regular line. and people constantly get sucked into this idiotic notion! i dont know what it is (i suspect its the letter 'x') but the general population cant resist the allure of the express check out. lets all band together and end this madness. stop using express checkout. its for your own good. (i would like to point out that i am completely enraged about this, because my boyfriend ALWAYS GOES THROUGH THE EXPRESS CHECKOUT LINE because he thinks its faster, and we stand there watching all of the regular lines rush on by)

4 comments:

Callie said...

weird. dad and i went through the 1-16 express checkout tonight and the woman in the 1-8 had 16 items. we had five. we did go really fast though, but i'm pretty sure the lines on either side of us were having issues with the cost or something. plus i knew the cashier so we were talking and it went quickly. you know, she was "engaged" in the work.

Kayla said...

I definitely agree that there is rarely a real express checkout anymore. I shop at Wal-Mart regularly and I feel like people int he express always have more than they should..
I certainly still buy books, I love to read and it's good for you in many ways like knowledge and to increase your mental capacity.

Robin said...

I totally agree! This reminds me of a recent "Kindle" debate I've had. Call me old school romantic, but I love a real, live book. I need to turn the actual pages, hell dogear them if I have to.. I'm also a gasp! book buyer. :) Used bookstores all the way!

Anonymous said...

callie did u really count the ladys items and they added up to 16..sounds like u were waiting in line awhile if u have that kinda of time..