Are you a dumb-walker?

This post was inspired by an article on the BBC’s web-site recently.  That article looked at people crossing the famous intersection in Shibuya, and how more people are apparently crashing into each other because of increasing use of smart-phones.

But let me go back a little and look at the title of this blog post.  Do you know what the word “dumb” means?  One meaning describes the condition of not being able to speak.  Someone who cannot hear is deaf.  Someone who cannot see is blind.  Someone who cannot talk is dumb.  But more often the word “dumb” is used as a slang expression.  In that sense, it means someone stupid, someone without much brain-power.

So in this sense, it is easy to imagine what a dumb-walker is.  It is somebody who walks without using their brain to pay attention to what is around them.  The problem has become particularly big recently since so many people walk around while looking at a mobile phone or smart-phone screen.

I think that the use of the word dumb is appropriate to describe this behaviour because it not only describes their inability to focus their brain power on their surroundings, but the stupidity of choosing to do this.  If it is so important for someone to read an e-mail or check their location on a map or whatever, why can’t they just stop walking and move to a safe place first?

People who are dumb-walking do not generally cause a problem if their numbers are very low.  If there are twenty people crossing at an intersection and one of them is dumb-walking, then the other nineteen people will walk around the person who is not paying attention.  However if there are twenty people crossing at an intersection and four of them are dumb-walking, then there is obviously a high chance of them bumping into one another. 

Some people can be really careless when using their mobile phones and smart-phones.  I remember my wife and I being passed by a woman cycling.  She had a young child strapped into the bicycle and the mother was looking at her mobile phone while cycling.  She was risking her own life, making things difficult for all other road-users, and even endangering her young child just because she was addicted to her mobile phone.  That’s definitely dumb. 

There are some stupid people in the world.  In general, I don’t mind that because it makes me feel smarter.  But I would rather that stupid people were not driving cars near me, cycling bikes while reading their smart-phones near me, or running on train platforms near me.

I wonder if my students have any similar stories of stupid behaviour they have seen in public.  Or maybe you have some confession you would like to make about your own behaviour?  You are not walking along the street as you read this, are you?

 

Vocabulary:

To be inspired by something – If B is inspired by A, it means that A gave the idea to B.  For example, this novel is inspired by my time living in Japan.

Apparently – According to what I have heard or read.  For example, you might read a newspaper article that says that parasols are becoming popular.  You might then tell your friend, “Apparently parasols are becoming popular.”

To crash into something – If you crash into something then you contact it accidentally with force.  For example,, “My car crashed into the back of another car waiting at the traffic lights.”

To bump into something – To crash into something, but “bump” sounds less violent than “crash.”  Cars crash into other cars.  People walking slowly bump into other people.

To be addicted to something – If you are addicted to something, then you cannot stop doing or using it.  Many people are addicted to drugs or alcohol.

To make a confession – If you make a confession, then you admit to doing something wrong.  For example, “The criminal made a confession to the police.”