Tuesday
Apr082008
Power or Placebo?
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at 10:05PM
In Austin, TX last week I heard an interesting theory. An old friend of Todd and Garett's, subsequently a new friend of mine, runs a graphic design studio there. He said he got curious about the buttons on traffic lights that you push when you want to cross the street.
Allegedly, he sent his staff out to test them, timing the lights with button pushed and without. Apparently there was no difference.
"Of course," he told me, "if it did work it would totally disrupt the traffic flow of the whole city. A traffic jam on the interstate because some dude wanted to cross the street a little early? I doubt that."
Seems like a good theory. So, I ask you. What do you think? Traffic crossing button: Power or Placebo??
Allegedly, he sent his staff out to test them, timing the lights with button pushed and without. Apparently there was no difference.
"Of course," he told me, "if it did work it would totally disrupt the traffic flow of the whole city. A traffic jam on the interstate because some dude wanted to cross the street a little early? I doubt that."
Seems like a good theory. So, I ask you. What do you think? Traffic crossing button: Power or Placebo??
Reader Comments (14)
power for the side streets where the lights don't change unless a cars is at the intersection. as for the rest don't know. i'd go for placebo.
but i do find that if you press the elevator button at least 12 times, it does arrive faster ;)
Depends on the location, I would say. On the running trail here in Powder Springs, the lights respond almost immediately when you push the button. Other places, not so much. I'm sure it all plays into a complicated algorithm that the lights have programmed to account for traffic and for pedestrians.
Traffic Engineering is a complicated field (and one that is still developing). I almost chose Civil Engineering with a specialization in Traffic as my major in college, but all of the math probably would've beaten me senseless.
There is some power to it, but it's got to fit into a much larger algorithm. I expect that there wasn't a well-designed experiment used. ;)
Jeff is right. There's a lot of math involved. In fact, I'm gonna shut the laptop and stop thinking about this, or I'll be awake until morning trying to type up a comment that will be mathematically correct and relatively easy to understand.
I do love me some (mild) conspiracy theories.
And Geof: thank you for sparing us. ;-)
how quickly we degenerate into algorithms around here...
I agree with the senator from Alabama
Power depending on the location and time of day
I can't speak for it, but I do know this: the "Doors Close" button in most elevators is almost always a dummy button. It's just there to give people something to push.
My father calls it the "nuttin button" (nothing)
Can you give me a reference on that elevator button thing? This interests me greatly, but I haven't yet found any sources that say this.
You don't need to mash the button... you just need to run fast.
-my soul is analog
Pure Placebo in most cases. But... if you want to run the risk of getting a ticket, flash your lights rapidly as you approach a busy intersection. If it has the proper sensors it will detect your flashing as an emergency light and immediately turn to green. There are actually devices that you can buy that will do this for you automaticly. These are illegal in most if not all states. A guy in my home town of Mason, OH got busted with one when police noticed that the emergency sensors were going off at the same time every day and did a stake out. They caught the poor slug on his way to work.
A little of both! Most of those things don't control the stoplight. They just determine whether that little hand changes to a walk sign at the spot in the light cycle when it is safest to cross. If no one hits the button the hand stays there (but it's still safe to cross at that point... if you dare). However, there was a crosswalk by the campus of my college that had a dedicated stoplight for it. It was on a cycle, but would only turn red if someone pushed the button. So definitely power in that instance. Man it was great making everyone stop during rush hour, just so you could cross the street!
In Costa Rica, the buttons do make the lights change. But the changing lights don't make the cars stop.