Using a profiling technique at the airport may not be all bad.
For example, suppose your sister-in-law is coming in on one flight, and
her boyfriend, who lives in a different city, is coming in on another
flight. The boyfriend's flight is supposed to get in about 15 minutes
before the SiL's flight, but her flight is significantly delayed, and
you've never met the boyfriend or even seen a picture of him; all you
know is his name, the fact he was in college with the SiL, and the
baggage claim area he'll be picking up his bags from. What do you do?
You figure out a profile for him and see if you can't pick him out of
the crowd of about 100 people at that baggage claim carousel.
Gender, approximate age and the fact that he's alone eliminates about
97% of the people there, so you then just have to choose from 3 people.
Knowing your SiL and trying to peg who'd she'd be inclined to go out
with, and figuring he's going to be looking a little lost, will narrow
it down to a likeliest candidate. And when you walk up to him and ask
if he's X, and he recognizes *you* from pictures he's seen (because your
SiL has pictures of you and your baby and has been showing them off to
all comers), you and he are set to sit down and wait for your SiL's
flight and start getting to know each other.
And then a couple of days later, you explain to your wife that it wasn't
that hard to pick him out of the crowd at the airport, giving your
technique, and she decides that profiling at the airport can sometimes
be beneficial to all involved. :)
Julia
who had to say good-bye to the guy this morning, and who is glad that he
turned out to fit in with us and a few of our friends fairly well, as it
looks like this relationship is more serious than any her sister has had
to date
