tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18103977.post113044908570574532..comments2024-03-28T03:24:52.114-04:00Comments on The Lansey Brothers' Blog: Of subways and elevator buttonsEli Lanseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01955234977479398457noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18103977.post-1135313735510852672005-12-22T23:55:00.000-05:002005-12-22T23:55:00.000-05:00I have to agree with Eli- Ironically, when a perso...I have to agree with Eli- <BR/><BR/>Ironically, when a person waiting for the train looks down the tracks, he is probably thinking something along the lines of, "Gee, what a waste of time it is to sit here waiting for a train." But he is actually wasting more time by thinking about the time he is wasting instead of putting that time towards something productive, like taking a census of homeless people, as Eli suggests.<BR/><BR/>So if he really doesn't want to waste his time, he should stop worrying about wasting time and actually do something.<BR/><BR/>And speaking of wasting time...Eliyakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16532420266600452956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18103977.post-1135297049301468022005-12-22T19:17:00.000-05:002005-12-22T19:17:00.000-05:00To Eli -"When you have no control over the time it...To Eli -<BR/><BR/>"When you have no control over the time it will take you to get somewhere (i.e. subway), looking at a watch is also usless."<BR/><BR/>- A watch does not control time, only displays. Why do they bother to print a schedule of trains, if they come every 30 minutes (like some do) if the rider cannot control the schedule.<BR/><BR/>Regarding your first paragraph. Nobody - or very stupid people - believes that looking at the track makes a train come faster. Some people may believe that pressing an elevator button MAY bring an elevator car quicker. The comparison is NOT the same. Some people may not believe, or care to notice, that an elevator-summon request has already been made.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18103977.post-1135276712899650412005-12-22T13:38:00.000-05:002005-12-22T13:38:00.000-05:00In the spirit of long comments (sometimes longer t...In the spirit of long comments (sometimes longer than the post) the only grave idiots I have every seen, are the people looking in the wrong direction down the track to see if the train is coming. Also, looking at ones watch on public trasportation can have its uses. If your train was late or held up for some reason, you can look at the time and than contact that person you where supposed ot meet and telling them that you will be late because the train was 20 minutes late (this gives your statment more validity). Last of all (and my personal favrite) if you know what time it is or how late it is you can complain to the person sitting next to you about it.Andrew/Aryehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02480596378995796136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18103977.post-1135268561446799032005-12-22T11:22:00.000-05:002005-12-22T11:22:00.000-05:00I think it has been scientifically proven that loo...I think it has been scientifically proven that looking down the tracks makes trains come <I> slower </I>. (I have confirmed this experimentally, in fact). I think it's a corollary to the theorem that "a watched pot never boils", although the actual derivation involves a bit of tensor calculus. there's a shorter proof as well, but it wont fit in this narrow margin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18103977.post-1135268211711922852005-12-22T11:16:00.000-05:002005-12-22T11:16:00.000-05:00Indeed looking to see when the train is coming is ...Indeed looking to see when the train is coming is certainly pointless. But it is more than that. People have gotten <A HREF="http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051122/NEWS05/511220324/1006/NEWS01" REL="nofollow">serious injuries</A> by looking down the tracks. Admittedly that is a moron who probably has hearing problems, but he can stilll teach us a valuble lesson in patience.<BR/><BR/>Then there is the matter of all the time people waste looking to see when the train/bus/trolley is coming, asking other poeple when the train/bus/trollley is coming, look down the tracks/road, looking to see when the train/bus/trolley is coming, asking other poeple when the train/bus/trollley is coming, look down the tracks/road,looking to see when the train/bus/trolley is coming, asking other poeple when the train/bus/trollley is coming, look down the tracks/road,looking to see when the train/bus/trolley is coming, asking other poeple when the train/bus/trollley is coming, look down the tracks/road, etc. In that time you could get some serious work done maybe think of something that will be a boon to society. So please don't look down the tracks.notElonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04857651031212875523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18103977.post-1135265453247931472005-12-22T10:30:00.000-05:002005-12-22T10:30:00.000-05:00I believe that my comparison is accurate. Regardle...I believe that my comparison is accurate. Regardless of if there is a value to knowing if the train is 10 seconds away (which I doubt), looking down the tracks still does nothing to cause the train to arrive quicker. Just as pushing an already pushed elevator button does not help the elevator arrive quicker.<BR/><BR/>And about the issue of people needing to know the time all the time: When you have no control over the time it will take you to get somewhere (i.e. subway), looking at a watch is also usless.<BR/><BR/>And how do you lose respect on an exponential scale? Each time they push the button your quantifyable respect drops by e^-p ?<BR/><BR/>[By the way, in <I>Gulliver's Travels</I> (a deathly boring read) the Lilliputians deduce that the pocketwatch is Gulliver's god, since he consults it before doing anything (Wow! I <I>did</I> learn something in that "Comedy and Satire class!).]Eli Lanseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01955234977479398457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18103977.post-1135236340561633212005-12-22T02:25:00.000-05:002005-12-22T02:25:00.000-05:00The comparison you made is false. With an elevator...The comparison you made is false. With an elevator - at least the common modern ones - after the elevator summon button had been pressed, or the floor selected, the button tends to light up. And, yes, it is idiotic and pointless to press the button again to ensure it validity. (Those people lose my respect on an exponential scale.)<BR/><BR/>But, looking at the tracks, or more likely, down the tunnel, is like looking at one's watch. Merely to prepare his schedule for his impending journey. Like, when waiting for a scheduled train, to check the clock to see what time it is for the purpose of knowing when the train will come. Nobody, even grave idiots, would think that. (Well, maybe grave idiots.)<BR/><BR/>People don't like waiting blindly, in fact I think some form tortures are based on this. In some forms of this transportation, there are electronic signs telling of the time until the next train - like on the Amsterdammer trams.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com