wearing his counseling hat. Someone tell him to take it off when he's indoors.

I spend a lot of time at Signs of Life. The coffee is cheap and the wifi is free. At this point, the baristas likely confuse me for that statue in the corner that sometimes gets up to pee.

...I guess if you say so...

My biggest beef with Signs of Life is that it's a Christian bookstore. I used to go to java break, but they started charging for their wifi. So I'm silently protesting them by not going. Starbucks has wifi that consistently craps out, plus my sister-in-law informs me that Starbucks is a corrupt business run by werewolves (or something). So I'm stuck with Signs of Life every day (except Sunday, where Signs of Life locks it's door to remind us why buying their coffee gets you into heaven). I'm hoping that my extended time here will eventually turn the whole place into a secular, heathen-filled mosh pit of gays, scientists, and harry potter fans.

...I'll have to pack my things and go...

So I sit at one of the smaller tables, with headphones jammed in my ear to tell people I'm interesting enough to be busy, but boring enough to be alone. My fingers tap on the dusty keyboard of my bulky Acer laptop. My power cord weaves through the other furniture, looking for the closest wall socket. My mug of coffee I ordered hours ago has a little bit of coffee left, but it's cold and stale at this point, forming a brown ring in the inside of the mug.

...Hit the road, Jack...

So conversations about Christianity are a little more common at Signs of Life than most coffee shops. When involving more than two people, they become loud enough that I can creep in an ear. I don't want them to know how weird I'm being by listening in, so I keep my headphones in my ears, but the music off. After doing this more times than I'd like to admit, I've found a common occurrence: groupthink.

...And don't you come back no more no more no more no more...

For those that skipped the lecture in  Psychology 101 on Social Psychology, groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs in groups of people. In a group setting, people desire group harmony and conformity, and will adept these desires into their conversations, topics, tasks, etc. We become hyper-aware of what we are saying and listening to, and apply the appropriate filter to our mouth. This eventually leads to irrational conclusions, slower completion of tasks than individuals, and suppressed creativity. Groups of people, when assigned the exact same task as individuals, complete at a slower rate, and can even miss necessary details.

...Hit the road, Jack....

I hear groupthink a lot in these conversations. They're easy to pick up on. The silence.

...And don't you come back no more no more no more no more...