From: adw3345@ultb.isc.rit.edu (A.D. Williams)
Subject: NEW SOCIAL CONVENTION 
Originator: adw3345@ultb
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 15:33:52 GMT

 As it is my last year here in this esteemed institution of higher
learning (cough), I thought it was high time to take some mind off my
studies and get myself a woman.

 Doing so is hard to do here in the wastelands of RIT, but I picked a
suitable soul mate in one of my classes. She (I suffer from the ravages
of hetrosexuality) is good looking, is smart, doesn't smell bad, etc,
etc. 

 So I have initiated the standard rituals, such as finding a common
interest, being polite and nice, have an interest in her concerns, and
doing a complicated bird of paradise dance with a puffed chest and lots
of jerky movements in the classroom. 

 One of the problems I have is that I rarely see her outside the
classroom, and she doesn't seem to be getting the idea that I'm hitting
on her. So soon I will have to go to an extreme. Yes, I Derrick
Williams, will have to ask her out on a date.

 This action has some repercussions, the least of all is that my ego is
on the line. There is a good chance of embarassment in both our parts,
mixed signals, and awkwardness for the rest of the school quarter.

 Many millions of people go through this kind of uncertanity, and with
today's society, it's just hard to get these messages.

 So I have though of a new social convention that would curcumvent this
awkward stage of pre-romance with a minimum of pain and fear.

 In short:


                            NEW SOCIAL CONVENTION

    INITIATOR:                               INITIATOREE:

   A) I am interested in starting         1) Yes, let's get busy.  
      a relationship with you.            2) Yes, but not right now.
      Are you interested in starting      3) I am interested in 
      a relationship with me?                starting a relationship,
                                             but not with you.
                                          4) Yes, but you will need to
                                             change the following traits
                                             of yours: _______________
                                          5) No, I am not interested in
                                             starting a relationship.
                                          6) No. I do not wish to have
                                             any further contact with
                                             you. 
                                          7) I already have a S.O. and
                                             have no interest in this
                                             relationship.
                                          8) No, you are of the wrong
                                             sex.
                                          9) I do not know who you are
                                             or do not know you well
                                             enough. You will need to
                                             have more social contact
                                             with me for me to make
                                             my decision.
                                          

 The initiator of a relationship may indicate the question, and the
initiatoree would give one of the nine responses which should cover
all the possible situations.

 How this might be implemented is something I have given some though to.

 Everyone in their puberty years would have a transmitter implanted in
their forehead. This transmitter would store a number for each of the
people that the implantee meets. As one circulates through society, the
transmitter records everyone else's transmitter ID, and as one forms an
opinion about a certain person, the transmitter stores one of the 
numbers corresponding to the transmitter ID for future reference.

 When a person meets someone they may wish to get romantically involved,
the initiator would beam the 'are you interested?' question to the
potentional suitor. The suitor's transmitter would beam back one of the
numbers. To ensure privacy and minimum embarrasment, the suitor would
not know of the transmission, only the initiator would.

 For example, I might approach the said woman to ask her on a date or
social event. I would train my transmitter on her, beam the 'are you
interested?' pattern, and if the sign wasn't encouraging, I would
politely withdraw my efforts and speak of how nice the weather was
instead. This woman would be none the wiser and my frail ego would
remain intact. 

 This arrangement would have far reaching implications. No longer would
one need to be lonely because he or she felt that everyone disliked him
or her. By putting this transmitter in broadcast mode, one can find all
the potentional suitors in any given population, and pick a future S.O.
from those willing to form a relationship with said person.

 The social conventions of today rely entirely on chance, desperation,
lies, and fear. By implementing this new convention, millions of
people's lives would be happier and society would benefit as a whole.


                                                 
                                                      Derrick

Bringing tomorrow's technology to solve today's problems which should
have been solved yesterday.

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- Derrick Williams   Rochester Institute of Technology | Insert snappy  -
- adw3345@ultb.isc.rit.edu     Computer Science        | quotation here -
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