Fresh off the Tarmac

Just back from trip to North Carolina, upon which more reflections later. On the way there, at Newark Airport, we ran into Toby whatever his name is formerly of the Princeton Art Museum and also of some 57th st gallery. On the way back I was chasing Graham around the terminal and I noticed Eldar Shafir of the Princeton Psychology department, a young star on the behavioral economics and finance circuit, in transit between a conference at Duke and another on in frickin Venice, Itly.

People are always astonished at how many people I run into. It looks like pure randomness. But is it? I ran into a kid I knew who was from Kazan' and a woman I had met at Columbia at a bar in Moscow. Both were connected to a photo conference Mary was checking out. How does this kind of stuff happen? I keep my eyes open, wherever I am, and I look at people. It helps that I know a lot of people, sure, but a large component of it is that I expect to run into people, I actually try to do it. I go to places where people cluster and look around.

Another big factor is affinity. People from like backgrounds are likely to gravitate towards similar places and situations, and will settle in similar towns and neighborhoods. If you expect to run into people, you do.

So Natalie will give Eldar's girl Sophie an awesome Tar Heel State tourist t-shirt tomorrow at pre-school, due to a terminal hand-off. But now Graham is asleep in the car and I must go.