The Hidden Dimension

In The Hidden Dimension Hall uncovers key invisible factors in personal and social communication. How does where and how we grow up, influence how we perceive the world and ourselves in the world? Use your personal experiences to inform how your perceptions have been affected Observe your informal spatial interactions this week. Be aware of your intimate, social and public conversations and journal about what you notice. Record your own reactions and what other people do as well. In terms of fixed and semi-fixed feature space, look at the way your home is arranged and describe it, noting colors you prefer and other personally defining features. Where are you most comfortable—in small, intimate spaces or larger, expansive places. Relate questions and personal experiences that come to mind while reading The Hidden Dimension.

I remember hearing from a professor who had attended several international conferences that there was a hilarious situation that always happened. People from Germany and other Germanic countries have large personal spaces, and people from Arabic countries have very small personal spaces. She said that the Germans always ended up being backed into a corner by the Arabs. I always thought this was funny, but I never really considered how realistic it was.

Hall describes, perfectly, how westerners (Americans, specifically) act on subways and elevators. Be as immobile as possible, tense the muscles, and stare into infinity. It’s so funny to read those things on paper, because it’s all so true. You don’t even think about it, but that’s exactly how I act in those situations, even though I realize I’m doing it.

Unfortunately, right now I’m taking two online classes and I work from home, so social interactions are rare. However, I did go out with some friends Thursday night. These are pretty close guy friends, so we’re very open. We talk about private things involving women, life, and work. Since I was supposed to be paying attention to body language, I noticed clearly that we stand more closely to each other than we would with people we’re not close with.

My home is smaller than I’d like. It’s a townhouse that I share with my girlfriend and 2 dogs. As far as fixed spaces, it has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a comfortable living room, and a kitchen. I like the kitchen’s colors now, because we took down the ugly wallpaper that was there when we moved in. The second bedroom is used as an office now. It has a new bookshelf that I desperately needed for my large collection of books, a futon for guests, and a computer desk. One wall is burgundy, and the other three are a khaki color. As far as spaces and the elements of the room, colors, and space, it’s my favorite room. The real problem with the room, however, is there seems to be something wrong with the insulation or ventilation. It gets too hot during the hot parts of the day, and it’s too cold in the winter. That, unfortunately, keeps me from spending as much time in the room as I’d like. I am most comfortable in rooms like that, however – comfortable but not too open and not cramped.