Okay, I give up.
For initial returns to campus, our esteemed leaders came up with 144 sq ft per person per lab for calculating the number of persons in a space. Their reasoning? Social distancing guidelines are six feet between people. Well, since it's six feet one way, then it's six feet the other. Hey, that's twelve! We just square the total and, viola, 144 sq ft! (self-congratulations and back pats all around...) *sigh*
I had to explain to a PhD that this magical, mystical 144 sq ft box is not "six feet between people", but actually twelve. He could not comprehend, and I think still doesn't even after a drawn diagram, that placing each person at the center of a 144 sq ft square means six feet to the edge of each person's box, not six feet between people. 6 + 6 = 12. Basic linear distance and simple first grade math. I decided to really tweak him and mentioned it wasn't even right for twelve feet because they'd calculated for rectangular area rather than circular (144 sq ft vs. 113.1 for the pedants). I thought his head was going to explode.
I am getting a solid laugh at their expense, though. They finally set up the screening points. Had to pare the number of checkpoints and hours because their presumed volunteer participation evaporated. Now it's four checkpoints for a mere hour each morning (7:30a-8:30a). In three days they've scanned a total of 31 people. That's 31 people out of more than five hundred approved for return to on-site work. When word got out about screening station locations and schedules, people simply arrived after 8:30 or came in a different door. It's a pathetic joke and I'm grinning like the Cheshire Cat at their frustration.
Brad
