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[Editorial] Distance in Relationships
제 176 호    발행일 : 2017.12.04 

  There is a prejudice that scientists are generally unable to establish and maintain good social relations. Most of scientists depicted in dramas and movies are mostly self-studying and researching rather than socializing. (e.g., Sheldon Cooper in Big Bang Theory). Due to their passion for research and invention, they are often over-focused on objects of their study and thus have difficulties in forming stable social and family relationships. Admittedly, there appears to be some empirical  grounds for such stereotyping.
  And yet, in the natural science, the understanding of interactions is really essential. For example, the word chemistry has two meanings. One is that we already know-a part of natural science. The other meaning of the word ‘chemistry’ is that of an emotion that draws two people together and creates a special connection between them. Chemistry, in the first meaning, refers to interactions between two particles. In the condition of a high positive potential energy, the interaction between particles is strongly repulsive at a small distances. At long distances, the potential energy is zero and there is no interaction between two particles.
  Just like in the microscopic world where the interaction between the two particles is important, an interrelationship is also important in our macroscopic world. Edward T. Hall’s Hidden Dimension presents four types of spaces and human activities, subdivided into near and far stages, respectively.
  First, there is a close distance of 0 – 46 cm. The distnace is typical only of the person in a relationship where the normal physical contact is permitted, such as between lovers. It is close enough to be able to share caresses and distant enough to rule out violence or hurting each other.
  Second, there is a personal distance of 46 – 120 cm. The interval is appropriate for the distance between friends or someone you know quite closely. You can feel the other person’s body odor, feel intimacy, but, at the same time, getting closer than that may make you feel uncomfortable.
  Third, there is a social distance of 120 – 360 cm. It is a distance area that is maintained in a formal interaction situation: the distance typical of a formal workplace. The passage of communication at this distance requires good visibility and a slightly louder voice.
Fourth and finally, the official distance corresponds to an interval of more than 360 cm, and it is a distance we observe between, for example, performers and spectators.
  Both the microscopic and the macroscopic worlds require establishing and maintaining good relationships in them. One of the ways of achieving this aim is to maintain an adequate distance depending on the nature of your relationship with your interlocutors. However, a suggestion is that the distance should not to be too far or too close.

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