I mean, I think most people can (and should!) reasonably expect to go through life without being placed in handcuffs. I think it's a fairly extraordinary circumstance that found a geeky CS professor in handcuffs. Over accidentally "stealing" $4.
Maybe you can't imagine how someone could be so absent-minded. I certainly can, since I've been close to this absent-minded before - especially in the middle of a long flight with a child, which tends to make people espcially unfocused.
Seriously, it seems like you're giving him 0 benefit of the doubt. If a friend was telling you about this crazy thing that happened to him where he was placed in handcuffs because he accidentally took 4 dollars from a tip jar thinking it was change, would you really be acting this way?
I have no problem imagining absentmindedness of this sort. It's the deafness to the people around him that I find astonishing. Throughout the story anytime Aaronson was presented with a social interaction that would have allowed him to realize his mistake, he didn't pick up on it, and I feel that's because he can't respect the people around them or their point-of-view for long enough to get out of his own bubble and realize they might not be completely crazy.
If a friend told me this story I'd tell him that yes, it was a bit crazy, but that he also had done several things to bring this upon himself and that he should learn from this rather than blaming everyone else.
> It's the deafness to the people around him that I find astonishing.
I mean, you could characterize it this way. Or you could just say "some people aren't paying full attention to cashiers, especially when they're tired/stressed/traveling with children.
Really, I'm not saying he was OK to "steal" something, but are you really so shocked at someone not paying the most attention to a routine encounter like paying money? That part is completely standard behavior.
Maybe you can't imagine how someone could be so absent-minded. I certainly can, since I've been close to this absent-minded before - especially in the middle of a long flight with a child, which tends to make people espcially unfocused.
Seriously, it seems like you're giving him 0 benefit of the doubt. If a friend was telling you about this crazy thing that happened to him where he was placed in handcuffs because he accidentally took 4 dollars from a tip jar thinking it was change, would you really be acting this way?