An excerpt from the article in the Fall 2011 Data Issue of Good Magazine, which is in turn an excerpt from the book ‘The Chairs are Where People Go’ by Sheila Heti and Misha Glouberman:
Misha speaks in fully formed paragraphs, I was surprised to discover. On some occasions he would say something, then say to me, “Don’t put that in,” and then I would say, “But that’s the best part,” and I would do it anyway.
It was on one such occasion when I discovered that Misha believes you can put a price on a human life. Here is the conversation we had.
Sheila: I always get really pissed off when someone sees me running for the elevator and they don’t hold it. I always hold it because I’m a nice guy.
Misha: I definitely don’t think you should hold elevators doors for people and I don’t think you’re actually being nice. I think you’re trying to be nice, but here’s the thing: You’re in a building with, say, four elevators, and you’ve got this one person running for the one you’re in. If you hold the door them, you’re saving them maybe the 30 seconds it will take to wait for the next elevator, and that’s the part that’s nice. But what’s not nice is this: You’re delaying the elevator by maybe five seconds. For those five seconds, the elevator isn’t moving at all, so it’s just wasted elevator time. That affects other people. There might be other people on the same elevator with you, and it’s not up to you to decide on their behalf to delay them. Similarly, there are people waiting on other floors for that elevator, and you’re slowing them down, too. So the math is this…you’re adding a 30-second convenience for one person, but you’re creating a five-second inconvenience for: yourself, everyone in the elevator with you, and all the people waiting on other floors. If the total number of people in that case is more than six— which I think it usually is—then then the total amount of time you’re wasting is more than the amount of time you’re saving for that one person.
It’s different from a holding a door for someone, because that’s just an act of selflessness; you’re only inconveniencing yourself a little bit to create extra convenience for another person. So as a nice guy, you can still do that.
