Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Brief encounter

2012; Oxford University Press; Volume: 88; Issue: 1044 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1136/postgradmedj-2012-131423

1469-0756

John Launer,

Philosophy and History of Science

While sitting near the boarding gate with my family at an international airport, I noticed a young man and woman opposite me. Both were in their twenties. I assumed they were flying back home together to London, at the end of their summer vacation. After several minutes neither had spoken and I realised they were strangers, although they looked as if they would make a suitable match. For a moment, I had the ridiculous thought of suggesting they should talk to each other. Such thoughts don't come into one's mind for no reason, and when the man got up to join the queue for the plane, I noticed the woman look up and follow him wistfully with her eyes. Seeing me watching her, she smiled slightly and blushed. I wondered if she would now try and stand behind him in line and strike up a conversation after all. However, by the time she joined the queue, a large family had beaten her to it. There would be no conversation, nor the relationship that might have followed. I felt for the young woman. Most of us have no doubt been in the same position as her at some time—too shy to talk to someone we wanted to. But it also struck me what a good illustration the episode was of some fundamental principles of evolutionary psychology.