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Ligeti
Citizen
Username: Ligeti
Post Number: 600
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 6:41 am: | 
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Looking at a map on a computer or PDA device -- might as well skip the map experience altogether. Computer screens are an inferior medium for looking at detailed images. Your basic Michelin and AAA fold-outs are FAR superior to anything you can access online.
GPS devices are a distraction, and cause accidents. |
Rastro
Citizen
Username: Rastro
Post Number: 2464
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 12:35 pm: |
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I agree about printed maps being superior, except if you're sitting next to someone who decides that now is the time to plan out their route, and they break out the Hagstrom 3'x3' detailed map of the area.
Plus, online services are updated more frequently, and you can sometimes overlay traffic reports. I would never say that any of the mapping sites provide the best route to get anywhere, though. Google in particular is abysmal at picking the "best" route.
As for GPS being a distraction that causes accidents, I'd be interested in data (not anecdotal, but some kind of study) on that. And I wonder what kind of comparative distraction it is to constantly look at a map on the seat next to you. |
CLK
Supporter
Username: Clkelley
Post Number: 1983
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 12:53 pm: |
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I once got rear-ended by a guy who was reading a map in the car. We were standing still - map-reader was going 50 MPH or thereabouts. My car was totalled but nobody was hurt, thank goodness. My daughter, who was then 4-ish, was in the back seat.
Maps are great but do require some advance planning.
I'm not sure if same guy would have hit us if he'd had GPS - maybe he would have. Hard to say.
BTW I'm neither pro- nor anti-technology. I believe in using technology for what it's good for, but in being judicious in its use.
I could not be nearly as productive at work or at home without spreadsheets. These can be real brain-extenders if you know how to use them well (e.g. know all the programming functions, how to use pivot charts, etc.). I am certain of the productivity value beyond the slightest doubt, at least in my case.
OTOH e-mail can definitely lead to work delays as others have said. Lots of mis-reads (some intentional?), delays, etc. It's an easy way to dodge real communication. |
Ligeti
Citizen
Username: Ligeti
Post Number: 601
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 1:36 pm: |
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I conducted that study and concluded that GPS devices are distracting and cause accidents.
Far more efficient is to pull over to the side of the road, look at your map(s), then proceed when you can refocus on driving and traffic. Multi-tasking is not something that should be done while operating a vehicle. In this realm, the ultimate low-tech triumph is appointing a passenger to read analogue maps and issue instructions. GPS devices are notoriously misinformed. I was once advised to make a U-turn in the Sumner Tunnel. |
CLK
Supporter
Username: Clkelley
Post Number: 1984
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 1:41 pm: |
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"I conducted that study ..."
Details, please? Do you work for the DOT or have done contract research for them, or similar? I am curious to learn more. I have an interest in human factors research. |
CLK
Supporter
Username: Clkelley
Post Number: 1985
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 1:51 pm: |
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Another point in favor of computer productivity - if you can type well and write well, it is amazing what you can do in a short period of time. I type over 100 wpm and can't handwrite at anything close to that speed. Since my job requires a great deal of writing, this makes a very big difference for me.
Another example of how computers have helped productivity is in conducting research, especially of the "just in time" flavor.
Somebody I work with had a major decision to make last week, and needed to make it quickly. Several key factors in his decision involved potential community reaction to different scenarios. Friday afternoon, he asked me to put together a short survey polling people on their opinions. I did this in about 15 minutes, the survey was posted 10 minutes later and a request to participate was sent to everyone in our organization, and within 15 minutes we had over 30 responses. By Monday we had over 300 responses. I did some quick cross-tabs using Excel, sent the results to him via e-mail, and he was able to make an informed decision.
I've been doing survey research for almost 20 years now. In the 1980s, this process would have taken weeks. And as a result, it probably would not have happened, which in this case would have led to a potentially disastrous outcome. |
Rastro
Citizen
Username: Rastro
Post Number: 2470
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 1:57 pm: |
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Perhaps if you hadn't been distracted by your day-timer and missed your turn it the first place... |
notehead
Supporter
Username: Notehead
Post Number: 3102
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 2:59 pm: |
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Somehow, I got the dumb notion in my head as a kid that so-called labor-saving and time-saving devices and technologies were intended to give us more time for things we wanted to do by making the more onerous tasks easier to deal with.
I thought that by now that most people would only have to work 3 or 4 hours a day.
I am so frikkin' disappointed...
Hang on. Based on the amount of time I spend on MOL, I only work 3 or 4 hours a day now. Never mind. |
Pippi
Supporter
Username: Pippi
Post Number: 1858
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 3:18 pm: |
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rastro
where can I download those maps? I kinda surfed the Palm website looking for one a few weeks ago, to no avail.
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Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 1188
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 5:30 pm: |
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"I conducted that study ..."
Details, please? Do you work for the DOT or have done contract research for them, or similar? I am curious to learn more. I have an interest in human factors research.
Good luck getting an answer - if you're lucky, one of "the voices" may deign to answer you... I doubt it will be very coherent, however.
Better act fast - another 'study' indicated that the Internet was being phased out last year... so it will probably happen any time now!
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Ligeti
Citizen
Username: Ligeti
Post Number: 602
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 6:28 pm: |
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I have several low vs. high tech initiatives in progress which, understandably, I cannot comment on. But my research methods are exhaustive, and I have field operatives who prepare reports for me.
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Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 1189
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 7:08 pm: |
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http://oror.essortment.com/hearingvoices_rjow.htm |
Rastro
Citizen
Username: Rastro
Post Number: 2480
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 7:15 pm: |
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Pippi, I hven't used my Palm Pilot in a while, but I distinctly remember having MTA subway and bus maps, and area road maps on my old Palm Pilot Vx. I will see if I can pull it out and get more details. |
Ligeti
Citizen
Username: Ligeti
Post Number: 605
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 - 10:49 am: |
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http://www.theirritablemale.com/ |
Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 1194
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, March 2, 2006 - 11:25 am: |
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Ah yes, "The Irritable Male". I suspect there may be a passage in there about rage caused by feelings of inadequacy... poor, sad people who think the world is consipring against them, trying to hurt them or hold them back. These people yearn for recognition, for an acknowledgement of their existence.
I imagine that these people might feel pressured to invent a fantasy world where they are respected and even idolized; I'm thinking specifically of John Hinkley here - he was trying to win the affection of Jodi Foster, and sadly chose an inappropriate method of getting her attention.
If only John had instead decided to "undertake some research initiatives" the whole sad shooting incident need never have taken place. A ficticious (and therefore harmless) 'research initiative' could have taken his mind off the other, darker thoughts going through his head.
If only the voices in John Hinkley's head had told him that he had 'field operatives' working for him, perhaps he could have felt better about himself. If only those darn voices had convinced him he was a good person, he wouldn't have felt all that impotent rage... ah well, no point in worrying about it now.
I'm just glad John Hinkley is being cared for properly. Society is responsible to address the needs of its 'special' citizens, don't you think?
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Ligeti
Citizen
Username: Ligeti
Post Number: 606
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 8:47 am: |
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Much of the technology culture are obsessed with what CAN be done, not what SHOULD be done.
It wastes a ton of time in the workplace and erodes productivity.
My cabal of low-tech warriors and I are working to improve the situation. |
Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 1203
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 9:05 am: |
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Uh oh - the field operatives have been armed! They're no longer compiling data, they're 'warriors' and they are packing heat!
Anyone inhabiting the land of make-believe should stay off the streets until the situation stabilizes.
(Folks living in the real world should be safe, no cause for alarm - normal people can't even see these 'warrior data collectors', much less be shot by them).
Wasn't it Travis Bickle who went from nondescript taxi driver to a fully-armed psychotic 'warrior'?
Thank goodness for NJ's reactionary gun laws! |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 12718
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 9:32 am: |
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I've decided that, in a close race, Ligeti is funnier than Case.
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Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 1204
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 10:20 am: |
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Reject Tom Reingold
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Ligeti
Citizen
Username: Ligeti
Post Number: 608
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Friday, March 3, 2006 - 10:31 am: |
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Plus, Tom, chicks really dig me and my earthy, low-tech approach to problem solving. |
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