I hate that my roommate basically dictates the apartment temperature and insists that the air conditioning be turned on and the thermostat set to 69 degrees, even though it is less than 50 degrees outside, a veritable ocean of cool air that he could use by opening his window and letting that cool air inside. To make matters worse, he has a whole list of arguments why it is actually preferable to have a cold temperature at all times, and everyone who thinks otherwise is just crazy or stupid. He also slams the front door constantly upon arriving as well as leaving, which might indicate a greater pattern of selfish behavior and a me-first mentality of not appreciating or understanding that other people actually exist and deserve to not be infringed upon by his door slamming and cold temperature dictating. It would be better if he would just admit that he prefers a cold temperature and leave it at that, but he has the audacity to claim that everyone would be better off with a cold room temperature and be more productive that way. Not only that, but he claims that “90 percent” of the general public also have their air conditioners on in the middle of winter when it is plenty cold outside. When I suggest that he simply open a window, he claims that he cannot do so because then it will get too cold. This seems to kind of go against his basic thesis that cold temperatures are good for productivity and that he prefers them, to my mind. In any case, he could simply close the window when he gets too cold, opening and closing the window to regulate temperature instead of making the whole apartment cold through the air conditioner. To add insult to injury, he says that he gets too hot at night when he is under his covers and trying to sleep! Couldn’t he simply not use blankets or use less? Or use the overhead fan that is in his room, which I have never seen turned on in the very few times I have looked into his room, which he keeps the door open. Also, he leaves the air conditioner turned on and set to 69 degrees even while he is away from the apartment, basically saying that his demand should be kept even when he does not even need it to be. If I did the same thing with the heat he would cry bloody murder. After the third time, I confronted him about my extreme displeasure at having cold air blasting out of the vents in the middle of winter and it is cold outside, he suggested I use a space heater in my room to counteract the cold air blasting out of the vents. I could also close the vents, but still, some air always gets through, and when it is very cold he turns on the heat so I would be missing out on the heat then. I told him I would try to tolerate his demand and defensive defense of using the air conditioner constantly, even though he also claims that he mostly just needs it on at night. The most recent time I argued with him about it, it was in the middle of the afternoon and the air conditioning was on full blast. He then proceeded to wave his arms around and get red in the face, saying that he was willing to fight about it. When I tried to use logic to change his mind, he made all kinds of questionable claims such as that a cold temperature was optimal for productivity and a warm temperature was bad. When I questioned him about his logic and reasoning, he fell back on the fact that he was studying science in school to prove that what he was saying was right, claiming he was an expert on “thermodynamics” while also claiming that using the air conditioner used less energy than not using the air conditioner at all! Basically, I think he is full of crap and has a list of arguments that he keeps repeating, none of which have any real basis in fact and good faith argument. He is convinced he is right and is unwilling to compromise or admit that he might be wrong, clutching to his credentials as a science “expert” as a blanket response to any question about the validity of his supremely questionable theories and claims about the world and people.
from Tumblr http://bit.ly/320ysjK