Interesting Links for 05-09-2013

[andrewducker]

• Does pressing the pedestrian crossing button actually do anything?
  (tags: technology roads )
• The top code comment here is a classic
  (tags: programming funny )
• Fascinating discussion of accents, how people change them, and the effect they have.
  (tags: speech accents language )
• Using harsh verbal discipline with teens is counterproductive and

Comments

Does pressing the pedestrian crossing button actually do anything?

[cartesiandaemon]

People always seem to make this more complicated than it needs to be. It seems that nowadays:

1. Most vehicle junction controlling traffic lights automatically display a walk sign if the natural cycle for cars gives a red light in that direction. Anything else would be ridiculous -- not unlikely, but I think people would notice.
2. Most stand-alone crossings have a button that activates them. If you're standing near one, it doesn't keep changing automatically.
3. Other junctions are less obvious and may or may not change automatically.

The default situation seems fairly unexceptional to me: sometimes you need to press the button, and as long as you never the button and then don't get a walk sign, there seems to be no harm. After all, someone might reprogram them again. If you NEVER need to press the button, then sure, you can remove the button

Re: Does pressing the pedestrian crossing button actually do anything?

[naath]

I remember having an odd discussion with my mother once where she alleged that because pressing the button does not *instantly* turn the man green that it "clearly" therefore does nothing. This was at a junction where (from observing it) I believe the truth is that there is a sequence Traffic A/Traffic B/Traffic C/Pedestrians but that if the button has not been pressed the Pedestrians phase is skipped. In general where the button needs pressing it rarely instantly turns the man green IME there is generally a minimum time for which the man is red (and the traffic light green) between green man cycles (observed on busy pedestrian crossings).

In Cambridge there are some places where the button-pushing is complicated by there being bicycle-sensing loops; which auto-press the button for you if you approach by bike.

Re: Does pressing the pedestrian crossing button actually do anything?

[pigwotflies]

On some crossings (not junction crossings) pressing the button instantly turns the traffic light to amber.

Re: Does pressing the pedestrian crossing button actually do anything?

[naath]

Yes, although even then there is usually a minimum "red man" time between green men (if you press the button again the moment the man goes red the traffic still gets a few minutes green).

Using harsh verbal discipline with teens is counterproductive and harmful

[cartesiandaemon]

My extremely naive mental model for children (which I have no external experience with) is that they're most likely somewhere between animals (primarily immediate emotional-driven) and adult humans (a mixture of emotional-driven and capacity for rational thought).

There are certainly some times when you need harsh discipline of animals or adults, but they tend to be last-ditch efforts: yelling at either, or hitting either, is not normally effective at getting them to be well-behaved.

So, which is more likely? Something about children are an exception? Or people who are harsh with children are simply unable to cope and lash out? It might be the former, but no-one ever offers any evidence for it.

Re: Using harsh verbal discipline with teens is counterproductive and harmful

[naath]

Yelling at humans in general rarely seems to be a good way to get them to do what you want.

However yelling is a good way to vent one's own frustration...

Children seem to have a great deal of difficulty understanding concepts like "soon I will give you food, and it will be sooner if you stop screaming". Then again many adults seem to have difficulty with "I will do that thing you asked for but first I MUST GO PEE" (fortunately it's been a long time since I've actually had to walk off to the loo whilst someone else is still talking at me and had them yell after me at how rude I am for not listening).

Re: Using harsh verbal discipline with teens is counterproductive and harmful

[danieldwilliam]

I avoid what I think of as harsh verbal discipline with either of my children. I have an active policy against it

[lil_shepherd]

Quite simply, at our local and complex set of lights, if you don't press the pedestrian button then the pedestrian part of the cycle omitted.

[nancylebov]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-macy-stafford/the-day-i-stopped-saying-hurry-up_b_3624798.html

I expect that parents who use harsh verbal punishment with teenagers started yelling and insulting when their children were much younger-- I can believe being nasty to teenagers makes things somewhat worse and/or doesn't make them better, but I don't think it's something specific about teenagers.

Fry-Scrapper

[danieldwilliam]

Words I would not have expected to hear from a Las Vegas Lawyer.

“Jesus, they destroyed the ozone layer.”

I don’t know why but that statement tickles my fancy.