Synchronized Brakedancing

On Cooperation, Humor, and Getting There Together

Yesterday, in Seattle traffic, it occurred to me—there’s a lot of coordination and cooperation happening with humans

Not the elegant kind. It’s more… organized improvisation.

A slow roll forward.
A cautious merge.
A brake tap that says, “Go ahead.”

People generally agreeing to work together to get somewhere.

It’s maybe- synchronized brakedancing. I use the pun because another characteristic of humans is a sense of humor. These two qualities: humor and willingness to cooperate gave me a quiet sense of pride in people amid all the hoopla of us being so defective.

We were getting along—literally.
Winding through traffic, pretty intense on this sunny Saturday afternoon on my way to Home Depot for plants.

And as I looked into some of the cars—
each driver intent on their own pursuits:
some in a hurry,
some singing,
some munching on something—

Thousands of people, all with somewhere to be, all in their own heads…
and still, we manage to move together without colliding.

A little improvised but
It works.

Every now and then someone forgets their part.
Misses a cue.
Gets a little too ambitious.

But even then, the rest of the group adjusts.

We recover.

It’s interesting, because if you listen to the broader narrative right now, you’d think we were mostly failing at this whole “getting along” thing.

And yes—there’s some truth to that.

But sitting there in traffic, it felt like I was watching something else entirely:

Tiny, constant negotiations:
You go.
No, you.
Okay… me.

No one’s directing. No one’s rehearsed.
And still, somehow, we keep it moving.

It’s so ordinary it barely registers.

Until you notice it.

And then it’s kind of amazing.

I felt a small, unexpected sense of pride—
in us.

Not because we’re perfect.
Not because we always get it right.

But because, more often than not—
we adjust.
And we usually manage to laugh a little while we’re doing it.

We make room.
We figure it out and we are resilient.

Not perfect. Not graceful. Definitely not always synchronized.

Like a dance we didn’t plan, didn’t practice…
and are somehow pulling off anyway.

Maybe the story isn’t that we’re falling apart.

Maybe it’s this—

we know how to switch up our step when it matters.

And sometimes, when we really lean into it—
it can be fun.

If you want a perfect, joyful snapshot of that—
Carpool Karaoke with Bruno Mars and James Corden says it better than any essay could. If you drop into the rhythm about 18 seconds in, you’ll see:

Humor.
Timing.
Adjustment.
And two people completely in sync—
without ever taking it too seriously