Proof of Concept

On the weekends, I work nights at a hotel near the university. Last night, I checked in a guest who, other than being a tad irritated about the price, seemed very normal, and thus I promptly forgot about him. Let's call him Mr. Forgettable.

A few minutes later, I began assisting a second guest by giving him access to our business center. Out of the corner of my eye, barely even registering on a conscious level, I see none other than Mr. Forgettable walk up to the door leading to the fitness center and pool area, bags in hand, then turn around, walk towards me, and say the following phrase: "So when does the fitness center open up?"

At this point I, after making a quick (and very trivial) deduction, responded with: "The fitness center is open 24 hours, and that is a 'push' door." He grinned sheepishly, then chalked it up to being tired and went up to his room.

It is at this point I'd like to attempt to explain my thought process - not because I don't think you understand, but because the point of my exercises has been to practice observation and deduction, and I think this is a fitting (albeit simple) example. Despite my best efforts to keep this simple, it's going to sound a lot more complicated than it really is.

What I Know:
- The fitness center is always open.
- The door he was standing at is a push door, and cannot be locked.
- That door is not the door to the fitness center, merely the hallway by which it is accessed.
- The door is a large glass one with a wooden frame, through which the fitness center can be seen.
- The hours of the fitness center are posted on its window, but cannot be read from behind the glass hallway door (bad angle).

What I Observe:
- His goal is to determine the hours of the fitness center (based on his asking the question).
- He stands in front of the door for a period of time, able to see the fitness center through it (peripheral vision).
-He knows I work at the hotel (the fact that he asked me at all/ I checked him in).

What I Deduce:
- He would rather figure out the answer to his question than ask me, given the chance. He knows I work at the Hotel. But, he walked past me to the door of the hallway and stood there, presumably looking at the fitness center, before trying his luck with me. From this, we can deduce that his standing there contributed to his effort to answer his question.
- Something about his perception of the situation is incorrect, otherwise he would have been able to arrive at the conclusion that the fitness center is always open, or at least that it is open now.

So now, take a step back and consider the question: What could have been incorrect in his perception of the situation? Or perhaps a better question: Where did the error take place?

Which brings me to the door. The error had to have taken place when he reached the hallway door. Otherwise, he would have walked through, read the sign on the fitness center window, and answered the question without my help.

Now for the final bit. What error is responsible for a person not being able to walk through a doorway? The door not opening. And what is the most common reason a person would be unable to open an unlocked door?

"...and that is a 'push' door."