October 18, 2003
One of my best memories of our trip has been The London Underground.
I think the thing that excites me most about it is what it does. This is similar to why I like to watch a show on the Food Network called Unwrapped, it is also why I like to tour breweries, and Krispy Kreme.
Basically it comes down to how can we solve complex, massive problems in an elegant and efficient way. To me the tube is one of the best living examples of an elegant solution to a massive problem. The thing that gets me jazzed about it, is that it is a system in which you can actually take part in. It isn’t just seeing it on TV, or touring it from the balcony with a sample brew in your hand. You’re in it, you’re experiencing it. You’re using it.
Think about it.
This mass transit system is probably one of the oldest in the world, and I’m not even talking about how the Tube integrates with the bigger regional transit system that is called the Transport for London system (boats, trains, bus, tube, etc). The purpose of a mass transit system is to move people from point A to point B as efficiently as possible.
Immediately you can start to break down sub systems in this massive system and then start to piece them back together to see how they work together. My initial exposure to this was in getting a ticket to get on the tube. You’re presented with quite a few options on how to get a ticket. They have vending type machines if you know what you’re doing, or you can go up and talk to someone. We picked the latter, and we ended up getting a 6 Zone day pass for like £5.80. You now have a ticket that can take you anywhere the tube goes, use any of the busses, and get up to 30% off if you use any of the tube boat system.
Perfect.
You enter and exit the tube by presenting your ticket to feeder machines that then open up and allow you in. The funny thing though, is that after you start using the Tube, you realize that the purpose can be much more than an efficient people mover. Your solution can start to build its own character. It can start to build relationships. It can employ people. It can help people. It can entertain people. And it can move people. One thing that it definitely is, is accessable. I do believe that it hasn’t always been like this, but at the present moment most anyone who has a few spare bucks can get an extreme amount of usage out of the Tube. Now we have an efficient solution that can be used by all classes.
I suppose though that I should get to the point of this little story. It has to do with diversity. It also has to do with the Tube.
It happened one afternoon as M and I were on our way back from some tourist site or another and we hopped on the Tube to our next destination. As with most mass transit systems, you don’t find a lot of people chatting unless they know each other. What you see are common everyday people using it as a mode of transportation. Each person is wrapped up in their own world. Reading, day dreaming, listening to music, eating, talking, or observing.
So let me give you a setup. M and I were sitting in such a way that there were 5 seats that ran along the edges of the trolley, both sides. So that when you sat down you’d be looking at a person across from you and facing you. (Think like the front of the bus if you know about Metro. It wasn’t particularly crowded that trip, but here is what happened.
First a young indian couple got on board and sat down together. They were in their late 20’s and looked very modern as far as dress went. They looked like they enjoyed each others company, and were having a conversation.
At the next stop, a caucasian man got on and sat down. He looked to be Eastern European, and was immediately engrossed within a French book as soon as he sat down.
A few stops later a young Chinese woman got on and sat down.
Finally, a very traditional looking Indian woman filled the final seat at the end. She was dressed in a Sari.
I didn’t really notice this until it was complete, but there it was. Here sitting shoulder to shoulder was just about a diverse set of people as you can come up with. Each together, using a common system to fulfill their needs. No one giving dirty looks, no one getting up to not sit next to someone else, or any of that other stuff.
It was really great, and I really wanted to take a picture of it. I was thinking that would have made a spectacular black/white shot. A few things bad about that though. 1. I’m not sure how well it would be taken if I just whipped out hte camera and started taking shots. 2. We were so close that I couldn’t fit everyone in without doing some multiple shot / panoramic type of thing. I’ll just have to settle with my mental image. It really was great.
October 18, 2003
One of my best memories of our trip has been The London Underground.
I think the thing that excites me most about it is what it does. This is similar to why I like to watch a show on the Food Network called Unwrapped, it is also why I like to tour breweries, and Krispy Kreme.
Basically it comes down to how can we solve complex, massive problems in an elegant and efficient way. To me the tube is one of the best living examples of an elegant solution to a massive problem. The thing that gets me jazzed about it, is that it is a system in which you can actually take part in. It isn’t just seeing it on TV, or touring it from the balcony with a sample brew in your hand. You’re in it, you’re experiencing it. You’re using it.
Think about it.
This mass transit system is probably one of the oldest in the world, and I’m not even talking about how the Tube integrates with the bigger regional transit system that is called the Transport for London system (boats, trains, bus, tube, etc). The purpose of a mass transit system is to move people from point A to point B as efficiently as possible.
Immediately you can start to break down sub systems in this massive system and then start to piece them back together to see how they work together. My initial exposure to this was in getting a ticket to get on the tube. You’re presented with quite a few options on how to get a ticket. They have vending type machines if you know what you’re doing, or you can go up and talk to someone. We picked the latter, and we ended up getting a 6 Zone day pass for like £5.80. You now have a ticket that can take you anywhere the tube goes, use any of the busses, and get up to 30% off if you use any of the tube boat system.
Perfect.
You enter and exit the tube by presenting your ticket to feeder machines that then open up and allow you in. The funny thing though, is that after you start using the Tube, you realize that the purpose can be much more than an efficient people mover. Your solution can start to build its own character. It can start to build relationships. It can employ people. It can help people. It can entertain people. And it can move people. One thing that it definitely is, is accessable. I do believe that it hasn’t always been like this, but at the present moment most anyone who has a few spare bucks can get an extreme amount of usage out of the Tube. Now we have an efficient solution that can be used by all classes.
I suppose though that I should get to the point of this little story. It has to do with diversity. It also has to do with the Tube.
It happened one afternoon as M and I were on our way back from some tourist site or another and we hopped on the Tube to our next destination. As with most mass transit systems, you don’t find a lot of people chatting unless they know each other. What you see are common everyday people using it as a mode of transportation. Each person is wrapped up in their own world. Reading, day dreaming, listening to music, eating, talking, or observing.
So let me give you a setup. M and I were sitting in such a way that there were 5 seats that ran along the edges of the trolley, both sides. So that when you sat down you’d be looking at a person across from you and facing you. (Think like the front of the bus if you know about Metro. It wasn’t particularly crowded that trip, but here is what happened.
First a young indian couple got on board and sat down together. They were in their late 20’s and looked very modern as far as dress went. They looked like they enjoyed each others company, and were having a conversation.
At the next stop, a caucasian man got on and sat down. He looked to be Eastern European, and was immediately engrossed within a French book as soon as he sat down.
A few stops later a young Chinese woman got on and sat down.
Finally, a very traditional looking Indian woman filled the final seat at the end. She was dressed in a Sari.
I didn’t really notice this until it was complete, but there it was. Here sitting shoulder to shoulder was just about a diverse set of people as you can come up with. Each together, using a common system to fulfill their needs. No one giving dirty looks, no one getting up to not sit next to someone else, or any of that other stuff.
It was really great, and I really wanted to take a picture of it. I was thinking that would have made a spectacular black/white shot. A few things bad about that though. 1. I’m not sure how well it would be taken if I just whipped out hte camera and started taking shots. 2. We were so close that I couldn’t fit everyone in without doing some multiple shot / panoramic type of thing. I’ll just have to settle with my mental image. It really was great.