Mind the Gap
Posted on November 15, 2013 | posted by:I boarded the 1 train to make my way from 14th street all the way to 191st street, as I do every day on my way home from school. It was a crowded car and as usual, all the passengers were keeping to themselves, staring with blank faces either at the floor or at some kind of tablet in their hands.
The conductor gets on the speaker to make an announcement. I am expecting the same old monotonous “the next stop will be 18th street…Stand clear of the closing doors please” drill, but instead am surprised at what I hear. This conductor has personality! And he’s telling jokes over the loudspeaker. He continues to tell these jokes over the entire trip. As we approach 125th street, the only above ground stop on my journey, the conductor starts telling everyone to look out the window. “Look at that beautiful view of the Hudson. Could be on a post card. Soak it all in everyone.” All of the people in my subway car start looking around – out the window and even at each other (gasp). Each person has a big smile on their face and is laughing either out loud or to themselves. We continue on past this stop and to the underground stations. “Back to the dungeon,” our conductor announces as our postcard view disappears.
I went home that night in an incredibly good mood. I told all my friends the hilarious lines that the conductor had said on my ride, and talked about the fact that the mood on the subway was completely changed because of this one man. Months later, I am still thinking about that subway ride and each time I get on the subway home, I secretly hope I will find this mystery conductor again.
One day as I was daydreaming about that ride, the thought hit me: isn’t this a big part of what we work to do as transdisciplinary designers?! We try to make people to ask questions. We work hard to get those people to think about the way that things are done and how they can be made better. We add our own backgrounds and personal touches to the work that we do, so that we can actually make a difference using our unique selves in the process.
This conductor made me think of all kinds of different things. Why is the atmosphere on subway cars almost always the same? Why doesn’t anyone want to look at each other? Why do most people completely space out on their rides home with such serious or sad looks on their faces? Why are all the conductors so dull when they are making their announcements to mind the gap? And even more importantly; how might we change these things?
As we approached my stop on the subway that day, the conductor announced, “191st street – slowest elevators in all of the world…enjoy your evening.” I stepped off the train and made my way towards those elevators (which are, in fact, ridiculously slow). This may be a wicked problem with no real solution, however the conductor that day definitely had a major impact on me and got me thinking about the way that we do all kinds of things here in New York City. He may not have known it, but he was changing a tiny part of a much larger system, and in doing so completely changed the whole feel and atmosphere of the entire train and the people in it. Perhaps for this conductors next stop, he should consider Transdisciplinary Design. If I ever encounter him again, I will be sure to let him know.