Fight or Flight

Walter Cannon used his “Fight or Flight response” theory to explain the reaction of animals to potentially threatening situations. When applied to the awkward and exciting social atmosphere of your average BYU student, we find interesting parallels and insights to communication.

For example, just last week I was at the Cougar-eat around noon (the busiest and worst possible time to want to grab a bite there) standing in line with a friend to get a chicken burrito when I saw, out of the corner of my eye, a girl that I remembered from my Shakespeare class last semester. We weren’t close friends, but we weren’t complete strangers. I was behind her in line, so I noticed that she kept checking back for me. Did she want to initiate a conversation? Should I say ‘hi’ or just brush off the encounter entirely? Would I be sincere in wanting to know how here semester is going or would it just be a nuisance? Fight or flight? This interested me. What motivates me to say ‘hi’ to some acquaintances or just continue not acknowledging their presence?

Plato theorized that, “wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” Are we that profound in our interactions with people? Probably not. But this gives me a basis at the very least for evaluation.

What are your thoughts? Any similar experiences? How did you deal with it?

-Geoffrey Simeona