FA+
Shop
Random Thoughts #1
12 years ago
MJD: 56472
Days since hatching: 9517
After having an interesting and deep line of thought, I decided that I should write things like this down instead of letting them fade into the aether of my mind only to reemerge later. This will of course not be a regularly occurring series since the flow of thoughts like this are highly unpredictable. Anyway, if you find what I write interesting, feel free to comment on it.
The Trans-formative power of the car.
It is often assumed by humans that when driving they are a separate entity from their vehicles. In practice, however, the combination of man and machine is more of a chimera then most would think. Outside of a car an individual is a mere ninety to several hundred pound intelligent ape. However when one enters a car and turns the ignition, they are suddenly transformed into a several thousand pound machine that can can travel many times faster and is capable of killing tens of thousands of people each year in the United States alone.
The anonymity that is given through driving has a significant effect as well. Unless you are right beside them and have matched speed, it is very difficult to even distinguish the occupant of the other vehicle, never mind react to the nonverbal communication that would be used face to face. For these reasons, a car becomes a macro expression of ones personality. This is often done intentionally by choice of make and model, Customization, and Tuning. However it happens unintentionally in the way that one acts as the Vehicle's brain. Ones emotions, that would show little presentation inside of the cabin, are expressed by the way that the car Accelerates, turns, brakes, and sounds. A person at ease will drive in a calm and relaxed fashion. A person that is tired or drunk will drive in a similar manner to the way that whey would walk.
However, the most intriguing expressions are of aggression and haste. When felt by the driver, the car becomes an avatar of these feelings at best and a weapon to intimidate and kill at worst. An aggressive driver will use that car as tool to enforce their dominance over others on the highway. While most will follow the generally accepted advice to steer clear of the aggressor in question, a few will take this as a personal challenge to their own ego and react in kind. The best case scenario from such a confrontation would be that one of the combatants will blink and things return to a relative normalcy. If neither side backs down, however, the situation holds the potential to escalate from aggressive posturing to a pitched battle of steel vs steel that can have disastrous consequences for the combatants and anyone who is unlucky enough to be in the vicinity.
The results of expressed haste are usually a willingness to bend or even outright break the law. When pressed for time or distance, the once understandable speed limit becomes an inconvenient suggestion that when the situation is desperate enough will be quickly abandoned. The signals that regulate traffic are subject to similar reinterpretation. A stop sign or a red light suddenly turn into a yield sign or a yellow light. The yellow light and yield sign simply cease to exist and fade into the unimportant background. At this point the old aphorism, Haste makes waste, will quickly and harshly come into play if a cop is near by, or another car goes unnoticed, or a telephone pole suddenly appears in the middle of the road.
In short, you car may not be Christine, but it still can have dangerous effects on ones life. As such it is advisable to keep ones passions in check and exercise good judgement.
Days since hatching: 9517
After having an interesting and deep line of thought, I decided that I should write things like this down instead of letting them fade into the aether of my mind only to reemerge later. This will of course not be a regularly occurring series since the flow of thoughts like this are highly unpredictable. Anyway, if you find what I write interesting, feel free to comment on it.
The Trans-formative power of the car.
It is often assumed by humans that when driving they are a separate entity from their vehicles. In practice, however, the combination of man and machine is more of a chimera then most would think. Outside of a car an individual is a mere ninety to several hundred pound intelligent ape. However when one enters a car and turns the ignition, they are suddenly transformed into a several thousand pound machine that can can travel many times faster and is capable of killing tens of thousands of people each year in the United States alone.
The anonymity that is given through driving has a significant effect as well. Unless you are right beside them and have matched speed, it is very difficult to even distinguish the occupant of the other vehicle, never mind react to the nonverbal communication that would be used face to face. For these reasons, a car becomes a macro expression of ones personality. This is often done intentionally by choice of make and model, Customization, and Tuning. However it happens unintentionally in the way that one acts as the Vehicle's brain. Ones emotions, that would show little presentation inside of the cabin, are expressed by the way that the car Accelerates, turns, brakes, and sounds. A person at ease will drive in a calm and relaxed fashion. A person that is tired or drunk will drive in a similar manner to the way that whey would walk.
However, the most intriguing expressions are of aggression and haste. When felt by the driver, the car becomes an avatar of these feelings at best and a weapon to intimidate and kill at worst. An aggressive driver will use that car as tool to enforce their dominance over others on the highway. While most will follow the generally accepted advice to steer clear of the aggressor in question, a few will take this as a personal challenge to their own ego and react in kind. The best case scenario from such a confrontation would be that one of the combatants will blink and things return to a relative normalcy. If neither side backs down, however, the situation holds the potential to escalate from aggressive posturing to a pitched battle of steel vs steel that can have disastrous consequences for the combatants and anyone who is unlucky enough to be in the vicinity.
The results of expressed haste are usually a willingness to bend or even outright break the law. When pressed for time or distance, the once understandable speed limit becomes an inconvenient suggestion that when the situation is desperate enough will be quickly abandoned. The signals that regulate traffic are subject to similar reinterpretation. A stop sign or a red light suddenly turn into a yield sign or a yellow light. The yellow light and yield sign simply cease to exist and fade into the unimportant background. At this point the old aphorism, Haste makes waste, will quickly and harshly come into play if a cop is near by, or another car goes unnoticed, or a telephone pole suddenly appears in the middle of the road.
In short, you car may not be Christine, but it still can have dangerous effects on ones life. As such it is advisable to keep ones passions in check and exercise good judgement.
