Lines & Queues

There is something mysterious about queues. From the very beginning they start to form they tend to have their own growth dynamics, as if a hidden power that brings people together is applied. How else can one explain why everyone passing by near a queue will - with high probability - eventually become part of it as its tail.

A FOMO explanation could be utilized to explain the phenomenon. No one wants to miss the fun; either waiting to purchase a concert ticket or the latest iPhone in a black something weekday. It’s difficult to refrain and keep going.

The wisdom of the many is another take. You need really high self-esteem and will, to go on and ignore what many around you seem to consider either important or worth waiting for. And what if an opportunity just went away due to one’s ignorance and stubbornness?

But the one I tend to prefer as an explanation is the loss of hope. When you are lost, the queue is something that can offer a temporary safe space to think or just wait for the time to pass. And since as humans we like to be around other members of our species, a queue can offer a practical and non-awkward opportunity to be social without the burden of arranging the meeting and having something to say.

I went to the bank the other day when the security transferred most probably cash, so we were locked out of the front door of the branch, forming a huge queue. As I stood there in the first position, I felt special; as if I was the one responsible for all the other members of it. And based on their constant questions about what was happening, when the door would open, and my estimation, it appears that I had some authority in their eyes.

Then the same power that brought us together vanished at once. The door opened and everyone was rushing to complete whatever could be completed.