Hey all. Sometime in the past decade, the powers that be decided that the old pedestrian lights, the ones that said either WALK or DONT WALK, were phased out. I assume that someone who couldn't read got hit by a bus, and they had to make a change. The possibilities for lights now are:
* The ones that talk. I hate these, especially the one on 55th St. and Lake Park in Chicago. I mean, if I hear, "WALK SIGN, 55th Street, WALK SIGN, 55th Street...) one more time, I very well might take a hammer to the speakerbox.
* The ones that count down. These, on the other hand, are awesome. It gives a certain amount of gravitas to the simple act of crossing a street. I mean, countdowns occur for things like bombs and the end of important sporting events. To add it to crossing the street makes crossing that much cooler. Plus, in DC (althought not in Chicago), they give you more than 20 seconds to cross the street, which makes things way better.
* The ones with the little man and the orange hand. These appear to be the most common, and are really the topic I want to discuss.
Recently, albeit only in New York, I've noticed what I originally thought was an interesting glitch in these signs. Instead of there being just a walk sign, the little man and the orange hand were up at the same time. Now, one could assume that this was merely a mistake, that seeing both at the same time was just a flaw. However, I believe that this is more philosophical (especially because I've had to read Locke for Property). At the point when there are cars going by, we should stay out of the street, so only the orange hand goes up. However, when there are no cars going by, you have the option of walking, BUT there is nothing preventing you from staying where you are. You are endowed by your creator with free will, and you can simply choose to stand there throughout the light cycle and wait for the next one. This is not a glitch, it is simply giving you your options, and letting you decide. Truly inspiring.
May all your hits be crits,
B
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1 comment:
Either that or they're playing that game... classic concentration?
Everyone knows that the orange hand means "Don't" and the walking man means "walk."
So, when simply the orange hand is there, it says "don't." And when the walking man is there, it says "walk."
Combined, these say "Don't Walk." So we are actually forbidden from crossing the street at that crosswalk.
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