Garfinkel elucidates our taken-for-granted skills by showing us what happens if we
deliberately attempt to disrupt normal patterns of life. Look a fellow subway passenger in the eye
for a prolonged period of time. He or she will no doubt look away at first but get increasingly
uncomfortable as your gaze continues. Perhaps he will eventually inquire what’s wrong, change
seats, or get off at the next stop. Behave in your neighbor’s house as if you live there. Disrupt the
smooth and continuous line of your walk down a crowded street with a series of random stops
and turns or with the shifty manner of a suspicious character. In each case, you will gradually
discover how life within a given culture flows smoothly only insofar as one’s behavior conforms
with unwritten codes. Disrupt these norms and the ordered reality of life inevitably breaks down.