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30 minutes with a stranger

(pudding.cool)
1103 points MaxLeiter | 1 comments | 04 Sep 25 05:56 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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0xDEAFBEAD ◴[04 Sep 25 23:57 UTC] No.45133600[source]▶
Pretty sure I read somewhere that many people prefer Waymo over Uber because there's no driver, which kinda contradicts these findings.

How about HN users? Do you typically enjoy chatting with an Uber driver?

If this "30 minutes with a stranger" experiment was performed during the pandemic, it could be that people were short on human connection at the time, and that explains why they valued it so much.

replies(3): >>45133647 #>>45135246 #>>45136214 #
1. bariswheel ◴[05 Sep 25 08:16 UTC] No.45136214[source]▶
Not really though. When people are busy and attempting to go from A to B, they may want to eliminate variables to better focus on their friends or something else in the Waymo. This is similar to the experiment where an incredible musician played violin in the subway terminal and people 'ignored' him. It's all about intention, when people plan to talk to a stranger, they're geared for that, if they are on their way somewhere, it's not the time or place to stop and 'smell the roses' most of the time as they are in a rush, doesn't have much to do with how great the musician is in the subway. When people go to a concert, and if that's same musician in the subway, they'll most definitely enjoy it, because they're planning on enjoying music at that time.