h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Personal Space - A2156555
Author: Lihiara - U550946

Note: This entry was originally conceived by Bob the Fish.

This entry deserves a bit of peering at (to use Frenchbean's expression).

It might be worth noting that for certain types of people including criminals, their personal space enlarges considerably behind them.

A couple of things also worth mentioning are the sometimes hilarious mismatching of people's personal space between people of different nationalities. Mediterranean types, for instance, have smaller spaces - northern European, on the other hand, have much larger ones. You will sometimes see a person who wants a closer space going towards a person with a need for a larger space and the two doing a sort of dance, as the one tries to move closer and the other tries to move away.

Although you've mentioned the fact that we have to accept much smaller personal space considerations these days, it might be helpful to specify some of them, eg on public transport or at a football match (although the dynamics are different here).

As I'm quoted by ZSF, I'd better peer!

I'll read this later and get back to you...


F/b

Interesting topic for an entry.

Your footnotes aren't working properly - you need to put them after the place in the text, not at the end.

The intercultural one is interesting - you can sometimes see a little dance where a southern european will move closer to talk to a northern European, who will promptly edge backwards. Given time they will normally end up against a wall.

It depends a lot on the context - urinals that are too close together make gents feel very awkward, but at a rock concert, people are OK about being squashed together with strangers.

Tom Wolfe wrote an essay about this in the sixties - its in a book of short pieces with a silly name - something like intergalactic lemon hotrod or similar.

He quoted a study done on rats that suggested the more you put into a small place, the more distressed they got until they eventually end up getting sick...

sprout

Hello again

I like it: a good basis for a good entry

Following on from Sprout's comments, it would be interesting to know what the effects of invasion of personal space are. Are there medical or psychological studies that have given any such information? Could you expand the entry with some medical/psychological stuff on personal space generally? It would certainly give the whole entry more weight...

My on the footnotes is that 1 and 2 should be in the text and not footnotes at all. But that is a personal preference, given that they are long and factual(ish)

Typo: -


F/b

Nice to see Sprout agrees with me about the dance (post 2).

I was also aware of the experiment with rats showing that they got stressed and ill if they were too crowded together. There is a strong inference here that with cities being the way they are, this is the reason why a lot of folk are ill too. I considered putting it in my post as well and I'm glad that Sprout has mentioned it. It would be good to include a mention of it in the entry too. I can't remember what study it was - can you, Sprout?

There's obviously a wealth of information about cross-cultural communication:

http://www.lib.umd.edu/NPRINT/diversity/crossculture.html

The passages on personal space, eye contact and touch are interesting in this article:

http://www.umich.edu/~fammed/culture/issue.html

In point of fact, I'm from rural Staffordshire and met a girl from Manchester at University, and I was convinced she fancied me because of how close she came to me, but eventually I realised it was down to cultural differences and we became 'just friends'...

What I'm saying, if I was being too subtle there, is that the difference in cultural backgrounds caused the misunderstanding... she needed much less personal space than I did!

I wonder how I ended up making exactly the same point as ZSF? Either I scanned her post and subconciously took it in, before then using it, or we independently used the same analogy...

*note to self* read more carefully.

On the rats, I haven't actually read the scientific study, I just read Tom Wolfe's little essay on it - I don't even have the exact title of his essay as the book is at my parents place.

sprout

Oh Six: what a sad misunderstanding! Were you heartbroken?

Good links, ZSF. Some of that stuff could usefully be added to the entry...


F/b

Thanks all for your feedback. I'm afraid I've been on a business trip and thus isolated from giving this poor entry the attention it deserves but now that I am back I shall review all the comments and begin assimilating forthwith.

Quick footnote-fix:

The GuideML text should go:

. . . sensations of nervousness, discomfort and/or embarassmentThere is some speculation that the human need for Personal Space stems from evolutionary sources [snip snip] . . . on the shoulder..

The footnote will be numbered automatically and sent to the bottom of the page by

There is nothing stopping you appending a footnote to another footnote. I'm all for it. The editors on the other hand may not like it.

By the way, another r needed in 'embarrassment'.

I join the legions that applaud your work on this entry!

I have also noticed the accuracy of footnote *3*. You may, if you choose, add a corrollary, that those who prefer a very close proximity for communication also seem to come from cultures that use the most garlic.

Just a personal observation, and related to the discussion on the mediteranean cultures.

Unfortunately, Lihiara appears to have Elvised. I propose moving this to the Flea Market, where some good natured soul can give this entry a final polish.


Geggs

Sorry! I was looking at the wrong thread. Lihiara still has a few weeks to go before we can move the entry.


Sorry all!


Geggs

Lihiara definately has Elvised now, so I propose a move to FM again.


Geggs

Yes, I would agree with that.