The Limits of Tolerance
posted by Frank Pasquale
Sorry for the light blogging, I’ve been presenting at a couple of colloquia in California. (I’d say more now, but given the last post I’m afraid of exposing folies de grandeur.) So here’s my Andy Rooney impression.
At 6’7”, I avoid long plane trips like the plague. Given the airlines’ bizarre presumption that people ranging from 5’ to 7’ can fit into the same-size seats, I have learned every trick in the book to get into the exit row. But a new enemy menaces peaceful flights: the oblivious or ornery who play their DVD players without headphones!
How can one defend against such yahoos? Noise reduction headsets can’t cancel out everything. Well, following Larry Lessig’s “Code,” let’s outline some approaches:
1) The Market: Yes, I could buy first class seats. I could also buy a private LearJet and line it with cork. Not likely.
2) Architecture: Is there some way to design a placticized bubble to descend around these people? Given that the planes are barely kept clean as it is, I doubt it.
3) Norms: I could ask the person to quiet it down. Do you really think that’s going to work? And why should the burden be on me? Perhaps only a mobbing could accomplish the goal.
4) Law: So that leaves us with law. Why can’t someone just decree this practice abominable and stop it?
I think I’m going to petition for a notice & comment rulemaking at the FAA. Anyone have some travel horror stories I should add?
Photo: Inconsiderate Cell Phone Guy.
November 18, 2006 at 10:34 pm
Posted in: Humor
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Responses (4)
Heidi Kitrosser - November 19, 2006 at 9:43 am
How about people who recline their seats 100% when there are passengers behind them? The recliners seem oblivious to the fact that this limits the range of motion of the folks behind them by, oh, about 80% or so! See what you can get the FAA to do about that, okay?
Oh, and this isn’t an airplane thing, but since you included a photo of inconsiderate cell phone man — what about people who carry on cell phone conversations in public bathroom stalls?? GROSS …
The Continental Op - November 19, 2006 at 3:26 pm
If the inconsiderate jackass is playing the DVD in-flight, the simple solution — really a private-law variant on No. 4 — is to ask the flight attendant to make them stop. That approach certainly worked in this situation.
Scott Moss - November 20, 2006 at 10:31 am
The free market answer, I think, would be that if enough people shared your preference, then airlines would start cranking down to win over business from the other airlines that allow loud DVDs.
This assumes, of course, that airlines are alert enough to know that passengers value silence. My intuition is that eventually they would come to adopt such policies if they’re sufficiently valued by customers — but it might take a while.
The other problem with the free market theory is this: every passenger gets one vote. So if 10% love using DVDs, 85% kinda dislike the noise a little, and Frank is in a 5% noise-hating minority (perhaps because, his head being almost a foot higher than mine, he hears more unobstructed sound?), then an airline easily could decide, “I’d rather lose the 5% of Franks than the 10% of DVD-lovers, because I don’t think I’ll lose many at all of the 85%.”
The point is that the market (like voting) can be bad about responding to intensity of preference where the purchase decision (like voting) is a
“yes/no” decision.
Frank - November 20, 2006 at 12:38 pm
Heidi: As for the recliners, AMEN! I almost never put mine back, out of just that concern. Here’s a self-help measure:
http://foodisworse.typepad.com/this/2003/11/device_to_preve.html
though Michael FRoomkin sees it as a kind of aggression:
http://www.discourse.net/archives/2003/10/knee_defender_is_actually_air_aggression.html
+++
Hi Scott-thanks, I agree with all of that. The Amtrak “quiet car” may be one sign things are getting better.
I’ve found there are a lot of things that companies (I think) should compete on, but often don’t. I wish, for instance, that hotels had to show pictures of various amenities they claim, so one is not surprised by a truly rinky dink fitness center (often with rinky-dink equipment), or an 8 foot by 12 foot “pool,” etc.
And I may well be in the minority here.
As for “Calling the flight attendant”: that could work, but i’ve seen them flagrantly disobeyed on more than one occasion for infractions like failing to stow electronic devices before a landing.
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