Eyes to the ground, mind your own business.

Social cuing. Humans are social creatures that like to follow the crowd. It just so happens that this aspect of human nature is emphasized and even encouraged in some cultures. These cultures believing in hammering the nail that sticks up. Sometimes I wonder if it is this instinct that prevents people from standing up to oppression (or just plain bad policies) and causes those who oppose it to act in strange (strange being relative) and radical (relative too) manner.

People in busy places like large cities seem to have stronger tendencies to mind their own business. It could be because they are too tired to actually observe what goes on around them, or it could be due to their mental preoccupation. It is hard to tell if people are plain jaded or just apathetic. For example, a commuter had claimed to have observed the potential London bomber repeatedly dipping into his backpack in a rather flustered manner. Now, hindsight being 20/20, people would wonder why he didn't approach the bomber or at least feel suspicious. Was it because of his being used to such unusual conduct on public transport (he did find it out of place) or was it because he had no reason to suspect that such a malicious deed was in progress? Another example would be when chinese people in China let a person drown while they were haggling over the price for getting involved. Some people seem to value money more than the lives of others, apparently.

Now, the question of the day is whether people are unwilling to step forward because of the herd instinct, or because of the modern lifestyle. I know one thing for sure, though. Standing in the middle of a busy pedestrian walkway while pointing and looking at the sky would not really draw a crowd of curious onlookers like it used to.