Airplane boarding behavior
Back in the before times, when I (infrequently) used commercial airline travel, I was always puzzled at people's behavior at the boarding gate. Passengers with first-class seats were allowed to board first like it was some special privilege to be the first to be ensconced in a large hollow cylinder. It isn't like a concert; you don't get a better view if you board first. The windows are the same size for everyone. Then attendants would announce "Now boarding rows F - L" and passengers would rush to get in line, as if the plane might take off before they get on. You have to wait in line to have your boarding pass checked, standing there loaded down with all your luggage, and once through the gate you have to wait some more while those ahead of you stow their luggage in overhead bins and squirm their way into their seats. Why the rush to get in line when it's just going to be more waiting? I don't understand.
I see no advantage to boarding the plane early. It doesn't change how long the flight will last. They aren't going to stop you from boarding if you don't appear when your assigned row is called. They aren't going to give your seat to someone else. I see several disadvantages, the obvious one being that it increases the length of time you will be crammed like a sardine into your seat. Especially if you are slightly claustrophobic or have any anxieties about flying, don't you want to minimize how long you spend on the inside of the plane? It's possible if the overhead bins are crowded, and you delay your boarding, that you might not get to stow your carry-on directly above your head. But so what, even if your carry-on is stowed at the other end of the plane, you will be allowed to retrieve it before you depart.
Personally, before getting on the plane, I prefer to relish the last few minutes I have as a free being, able to stretch my legs, jump up and down, or wave my arms. So I simply wait until everyone else has boarded, and the attendant says "last call for flight 212 ..." then I leisurely saunter up and present my boarding pass. By that time everyone else is seated and I don't have to wait in line. I can stroll easily up the jetway and while everyone else is making last minute cell phone calls or adjusting their headphones, I can quietly take my seat.
The modern city dweller does enough rushing around in their daily life, with complicated schedules filled with obligations and meetings and activities. Don't we want to take advantage of every opportunity to not rush? I think it's important to take savor those moments when we don't have to be moving and hurrying, when rushing isn't mandatory, when we can relax, and wait, patient and content.