Monday, June 24, 2013

It made me do it





The human brain is incredible. It can take in data and process it at unbelievable speeds.  "In a study at the Children's Hospital in Boston,  "researchers were able to obtain data at extremely high temporal resolution – picking up signals as fast as 100 milliseconds after presentation of a visual stimulus -- and monitor activity in very discrete, specific locations". It's like a computer on steroids.  

But if it's so fast,  tell me how people can get into car accidents by listening to their GPS? Do  they blindly follow the instructions  without realizing what's in front of them or that something is wrong?  I guess so. GPS devices have caused an estimated 300,000 car accidents in the United Kingdom . (I was not able to find a number for the U.S.) People have driven onto train tracks, only to get stuck and have a train demolish their car. They've driven into rivers, bays swamps, made turns where no turn lane existed and driven down the wrong way on streets.  Why????  What happened to their logic, their common sense?  Their eyesight? Are they so ready to comply they hand over responsibility to someone else even if it's a sightless machine?   Then they blame the machine for their own lack of reason.


Jeepers. I read this stuff  and have to wonder what's happening to the human race?  Maybe one of you out there can shed some light on this 'cause, damn, I'm scratching my head over this.

3 comments:

  1. 300,000 accidents by GPS? Yikes! That's just crazy. I can't get over that number.

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  2. A few years ago hubby and I were in San Francisco. If you've ever been there, you know how steep some of those streets are.

    Upon traveling to our destination the GPS told us to turn right, but we couldn't see the road! Hubby missed his turn.

    Needless to say, there was a street there, but our eyes wouldn't let us believe it. I know the eyes can play tricks on you, like in this instance, but if I see a body of water, I'm probably going to listen to my eyes, not my GPS :)

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  3. I argued with our GPS a LOT when I was in Houston with Julie. Then I called OnStar and let them duke it out with the GPS. We eventually made it to the zoo, (through a really iffy area and construction zone)but give me a printed map anytime. I bet those people who drove into lakes were busy looking at the GPS screen instead of the road!

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