The daily commute on the MRT can be enlightening. One early morning, I boarded a train to work.  From the door where I entered, the front cabin had no seats.  There was only standing space and railings to lean your butt against.  The back cabin had two rows of seats as per normal. The front cabin was sparingly empty, but the back cabin was packed with standing passengers. What gives? The only plausible explanation I can think of is optimism.  The back cabin is full of positive people gunning for a shot at an empty seat when the seated passenger reaches his/her destination and alights. Despite the front cabin having more swinging space, the lure of resting one's feet prompts many to try their luck in the back cabin.  The interesting thing is that this notion was not taken up by one passenger only.  It ......