Systems vs. Common sense

Old people often talk about the good old days. This, is often boring to young people. I, as a young person, however, had sort of an epiphany of what the oldies, or at the least the credible ones, are being needled by in this awesome era where clearly everything is more convenient and better (right?).

Let me outline a context here. I am an Indian citizen, and though I grew up in a metropolitan city (Kolkata), I am still a contributor , participant and victim of the plague of “chalta hai” (let it slide) and “ho jayega be… kisi tarah” (It’ll work itself out). I probably started to understand this affliction when I was introduced to the other side, i.e. the “systematic” ways of the West.

The example that got me thinking and writing is thus. I am in the security line at Montreal airport, with my passport, boarding pass and a jacket in my right hand. I had a backpack, and a carry on in the left hand. Sticking out of the back of the carry on was a three feet long poster tube containing my poster for a conference I had just attended. Hanging in front of the carry on off its handle was my pitiful looking Blackberry suit cover, with a not so pitiful Blackberry suit inside.

At the carousel, I passed through the scanner devoid of my shoes, belt, and the customary amount of dignity and composure that I lose every time I fiddle in a line full of people to take out my belt and shoes, while trying to manage two trays with my laptop and other stuff respectively, and the two bags, with all those people doing much the same or more. Some of my seniors from IIT who “oriented” me to Kharagpur however, will agree that I am able to pull off the de-robing part pretty well. Nevertheless, after I passed through the scanner, I was stopped by a security guard. Here’s how the conversation went:

Guard: Le est sghkshemmcmem

Me: I don’t understand French (My apologies to anyone who knows French for the liberty I took with the previous dialogue by the guard)

Guard: Where will you put this?

Me: I’ll be sticking that in the back of the carry on in its standing position

Guard: Oh so that bag’s yours too…

Guard looks grim; and in his brain the wheels turn , or the monkeys slip on their own banana peels, or something to the effect.

Guard: You can’t take so many bags.

Me: I have only two bags, the tube I can stick in the back. I talked to the airline about this, and actually came into Canada on the same airline in this very way.

Guard: No sir, you cannot take so many bags. Look, you have one (points to backpack), two (tube), three (Blackberry suit) and four (carry on). You have to go back and check two of them in.

Me: What? But.. . this is just two… I asked the airline…. came in this way from the US.

Guard: You can’t do that here. If you can fit these in the bag or carry on you can take them.

Me: Ok, let me try that.

After that I sat down , and started working on my luggage. I stuffed the suit and the tube into my backpack, with the tube sticking out of one corner. The guard kept a watch on me from a distance, getting more and more displeased as I succeeded in stuffing the two in.

After I was done, he called another guard over.

Guard 1: Hey, is that ok?

Guard 2: Hmm…. …. No sir, you can’t do that. That tube has to go in. You cannot take it like that. You will have to check one of your three “bags” in.

Me: … Hunh?... but I don’t understand. This is all in the bag.

Guard 2: No sir, the law is the law, you cannot take more than two bags through here.

At this point I had the epiphany. These guys did not understand this situation because they have been trained to ignore common sense, and do what is “safe” and well within the boundaries of the system that is the “law” that the second guard was talking about.

Of course, all this was my sub-conscious. Consciously, I was thinking furiously about what to do about the situation.

Me: Alright, throw away the tube.

Guard 2: … what? You don’t have to throw it, you can check it.

Me: Naw, this is just a poster, and Im done with it. Wait, …actually,… can I take the rolled paper and throw away the container.

Guard 2: No no … hahah.. no, you can’t do that, unless you fold it and put it in.

Me: Then please throw it away.

The guards look at each other and shrug. Eventually guard 1 took the tube and stowed it into a nearby trash can, where it stood…. sticking out of the corner, true to its infallible nature.

So here’s the question….

Do we compromise common sense in the name of being systematic?

And the next question…

How can an organization actually imbue common sense into its systems? Is that even possible?

And of course the obvious next question…

Scooby doo, where are you?