Waiting For The Bus

[eric_lippert]

I get a lot of random questions in my job, mostly from people I don't know who have somehow heard that I'm the guy to ask when you have a random question. (The fact that I generally answer them probably contributes to this reputation.) Often these questions are deeply technical, but every now and then there's a question that can be answered by

Comments

[visionline]

It sounds to me like a difference in problem abstraction. You abstracted the situation to that of a bus, which lends itself to the alternatives you mentioned. Someone else's mental model of the situation might have been that of a parking lot gate, where the gate might have lifted while their eyes were closed. Thinking of alternative solutions in that mindset are much more difficult.

As for finding your blog, just because someone knows how computers work doesn't mean the know how people use computers. The fact that people ask you about your blog (or other common sense things) means that it hasn't fully entered the common knowledge. Or that there are people who will, while standing in front of a sign that points to the restroom, will ask for directions there.