I went to a conference the other day - full of strangers. I didn't know who the speakers were or what they looked like. And when I arrived, the conference speakers were sitting in seats along with all of the rest of us, chatting with the attendees. This was a problem.

I didn't know who I was supposed to be intimidated by.

You instantly treat people differently based on their title. We automatically give people the authority that we know others have given them. But that only works if we're aware of it.

I wasn't. And I was happily talking to a woman I thought was an attendee. It turned out that she was the big shot in the group. And if I had known, I definitely would have made a worse impression, through awkwardness. But I'm not sure what the next steps are from this real-life lesson in ignoring 'celebrity'. Any advice?

Why do poor criminals always run? These guys have committed the least serious crimes in the entire legal system. And yet, they always end up running.

My first thought is that perhaps it's because they grew up watching the television show, "Cops." That show has created the expectation that robbers run.

Yet, if this is true, then Cops would also create the expectation that robbers who run, get caught - every time. In fact, I have yet to see an episode of Cops where they end the episode looking around saying, "Crap, we lost him."

I'm not saying this doesn't happen. But these episodes never air. So, there is no encouragement for the robbers to run. Unless you have 2 strikes against you, adding "reckless endangerment" to the charges simply isn't worth it.

Why don't these high school dropouts understand reason?