The Economy of Need??

I had to laugh on the way home from campus this morning. It was one of those things that, if I didn't laugh, I would sit in astonishment all the way home while pondering the big/deep questions of life... something that will just have to wait until next week when there are not two assignments and a midterm to write in the next 24 hours.

Have you ever realized that honestly, there are some people who are never content in life?

I mean, if I were going to be fair about it, maybe these people are just having a horribly "off" day and need an extra boost of encouraging from someone... but seriously, oye! Like, realistically, the bus driver can answer questions such as, "do you stop here?" "how often does the bus come by here?" or something pertaining to their route. But this rider wouldn't stop asking questions beyond the scope of knowledge of the poor bus driver. "When will the city bus come by, rather than your suburb bus?" "Is it supposed to rain tonight?" "Why is Safeway's gas more expensive than the other gas stations along this road?"

I understand. The person just needed conversation - someone to talk to and engage. But let's be frank here... of all the people this person could have started a conversation with about the weather and gas prices, the bus driver was not the one with the answers.

I'm willing to bet that we all know someone in our lives who is like this rider; someone who is extremely uncomfortable with silence in a relationship, someone who needs to see you or touch base with you in order to know that life is okay, or someone who searches for meaning through constant interaction with other people, strangers or friends. It's an interesting phenomenon in that, there is more to it than simply being an introvert or extrovert and I'm willing to put the hypothesis forward that there is an underlying economy of need functioning here on a level that is sub-consciously active. We're all like this on some level, we have to be in order to survive, but what causes some to be more invested in this economy than others? Personal choice or extrenuating circumstances?

It will take a bit more research and criterion testing, but this is something I am interested in understanding. Will post findings as I discover them! For now, it's back to studying the two remaining lectures/chapters for tomorrow's exam, praying that I did well on my essay, and pondering (briefly) how I will write two assignments between classes tomorrow!