SMIDSY

On Fri, 01 Oct 2004 15:30:09 +0100, ScumOfTheRoad <[email hidden]>
wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

The Ignobels are out (yes, I read Slashdot)
http://www.improb.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig2004

Have a look at the Psychology prize.

Also CocaCola UK wins the chemistry prize.

The site of the Biology prize-winning research ("Herrings communicate
by farting"😉 seems to have been slash-dotted.

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

Gawnsoft <[email hidden]> wrote:

| On Fri, 01 Oct 2004 15:30:09 +0100, ScumOfTheRoad <[email hidden]>
| wrote (more or less):
|
| >The Ignobels are out (yes, I read Slashdot)
| >http://www.improb.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig2004
| >
| >Have a look at the Psychology prize.
| >
| >Also CocaCola UK wins the chemistry prize.
|
| The site of the Biology prize-winning research ("Herrings communicate
| by farting"😉

<parp> Oh no we don't! </parp>

| seems to have been slash-dotted.

--
Patrick Herring, Sheffield, UK
http://www.anweald.co.uk

Interesting article, however, as with all such research we need to be
very careful when extending its conclusions to 'real world' situations
away from the experimental set up. For example, terms such as 'the
likelihood of noticing an unexpected object depends on... how
difficult the priming monitoring task is' begs the question of whether
we are measuring a real cognitive effect or one that simply reflects
the 'demand characteristics' of the experimental set up. Also the
background material suggests little more than if you don't bother
specifically looking for a given object, you might not perceive it.
For example, 'several researchers have demonstrated that conscious
perception seems to require attention.' The central point is that
cyclists are a perfectly normal feature of the road environment and
drivers SHOULD be making a conscious effort to look out for them. I.e.
they should be driving with due care and attention!

Also, as any cyclist knows, in reality drivers do 'see' cyclists
perfectly well almost all of the time. The main problems as that far
too many drivers on 'seeing' a cyclist then think 'Fu*ck it, it's only
a cyclist, I am pulling out anyway...'

What would be interesting wouile be some research explaining why
drivers in countries such as Holland, Denmark and Belgium where 'high
visability' clothing is almost unknown, and even the police cycle
around in dark blue uniform shirts, seem to have no difficulty at all
in 'seeing' cyclists?

By the way lets stop using this stupid P*** S**** term 'SMIDSY'. I
would recommend using FTTPO's instead, as in 'Failure to take proper
observations'. (Also note how contrived the situations supposedly
demonstrating the danger of 'killer windscreen pillars' on P***
S****'s 'SMIDSY" pages are. Almost all FTTPO's occur at T junctions
and in my car when I look out of my side window at such a junction I
can't even see my windscreen pillar without leaning back a little...)

On 2 Oct 2004 01:31:57 -0700 someone who may be
[email hidden] (Howard) wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

By the way lets stop using this stupid P*** S**** term 'SMIDSY'.

It is not his term.

It is an ironic term, which comes from those involved in the danger
reduction approach.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

"Howard" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

observations'. (Also note how contrived the situations supposedly
demonstrating the danger of 'killer windscreen pillars' on P***
S****'s 'SMIDSY" pages are. Almost all FTTPO's occur at T junctions
and in my car when I look out of my side window at such a junction I
can't even see my windscreen pillar without leaning back a little...)

I obviously don't know what car you have and my car doesn't seem to have a
problem. I have driven a Peugeot 206 which does and I have to make a
conscious effort to look past the pillar.

What happens here is that the pillar is curved and starts its curve from
quite a way back and extends a long way forward. I presume a spherical
shape is stiffer than a box. But try and dip the head and it stubborly
remains in the way.