In Passing

The NYUAD campus is far big enough to where sometimes the campus feels rather empty. Only in specific meal times, like lunch in the Marketplace, really shows how many students live within the corners of the college. These clusters of individuals bunch together, leaving only a few students walking to and from class etc. Particularly when observing human interactions, I noticed the passersby talk. It’s a few brief comments with someone you’re acquainted with, but it simultaneously builds the relationship between the two people. If one person is worth recognition to the other in passing, this develops a growing bond. It’s either strengthened when the two meet up and spend more time together, or it dissipates into awkward eye contact.

Regardless, I further wondered in this interaction how a passersby communication between a person and a machine, perhaps when they’re on their way to class, will also harness a communication. Down to a basic ATM, this can become a daily habit of that person’s walk to use the ATM. Maybe even a screen showing what the weather is like outside. It’s brief, and in passing, but over time it becomes something one anticipates and looks for on their walk.

Small interactions build on themselves over time.