# Where to Park By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2024-11-02 There are observable cultural differences. These can manifest in the most mundane things. Parking is one example. In Japan, one parks in the furthest slots from the office if one arrives early to work. The rationale behind selecting the furthest spot is that the person arriving early has more time to walk, and if a coworker arrives later, they can park closer and perhaps still make it to work on time. In the United States, arriving early is how one “wins” the closest parking spot. The rationale is that if somebody else wanted the prime spot bad enough, they would wake up earlier to win the better spot. The idea that one could have the best thing and forgo it so that somebody else who might need it more could have it is not common in our society. It runs against our cultural norm of social Darwinism. Competition can be invigorating. Hypercompetition is exhausting. Competing for everything all the time creates only losers. Parking matters. As do all the other little things to which we seldom pay attention. #### Related Items [[Culture]] [[Competition]] [[Society]] [[Attention]] [[Decision-making]]