umesh + D+ R07

The essay starts with scandal in Catholic Church, failure to uncover weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and disappointment & stresses out about the public institution giving false information on push buttons at the traffic corners of New York City. The data presented about the buttons on the pole of corner streets of New York is very interesting, which claims at least 2500 of 3000 have not been working for fifteen years. Today’s my experience of crossing Capital Drive at Oakland ave. was same as the above push buttons which Michael Luo claims as Mechanical Placebos. One person was ahead of me, he had pushed button, we were waiting anxiously to change the lights, and it was taking time. On the other end too, there were many people gathered. Once again I pushed 2-3 time on the buttons and waited. It was frustrating experience. But the crossings, which do not have the push button’s like Edgewood & Oakland seems fine, it is more comfortable to adjust according to the time interval of light changing. There is less hurry than the crossing which has the push buttons.

And I agree with the ‘Door Close’ sign button on elevator too. In my opinion, these all are the psychological treatments which help people mind to comfort at certain level. Here I assume, the Psychological theory (Distraction) would fit for above cases.

Distraction: mental distress (Gaudreau and Blondin 2004) or derangement distraction with task-oriented (problem-focused) leads to more positive outcomes. When pushing buttons, it informs mind that it is going to take action as soon as possible (like light switch on/ off function), this activity distract for waiting longer period of time. Hence, intentionally these buttons are placed at those specific location, where there need to wait longer period of time.

The idea of intermittent reward in Casino is the key mantra to inform customer’s mind that the chance of winning is also possible, so that the customer keeps playing. The writer’s intention of using sign post as ‘This house is protected by XYZ security system’ reminds me of people using sign posts as ‘Beware of Dogs’ even though they don’t have dogs.

Conclusion of essay, questions of possibility usage of information satirically comparing with Department of Homeland security’s terrorism treat level.

JenniferL_R07

In essay "31" of Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design, we learn about the placebo effect that information can cause. I always kind of thought that those crosswalk buttons never worked, because they literally never did anything every time I happened to press one. But the action of pressing the button did give me the sense that I would in fact be able to safely cross the street soon. The author attributes this same idea to a number of other examples including security signs, IDs, and other types of "in-a-hurry" buttons. A personal example that comes straight to my mind after reading this article involves a "Beware of Dog" sign. This sign is located at a house that I pass when I walk to school. After 2 years of passing this house almost every day, I have not once seen or heard a dog anywhere near that location. Clearly the owner of this house (which also happens to have a pretty intense iron fence around it) thought it would encourage thieves or troublemaking college kids to keep their distance. Little do they know, I'm on to their trickery. Not that I'll be jumping their fence anytime soon, but this placebo effect can only work on random passerby’s. Any "threats" that continually dwell in the immediate area will probably figure out that the "Beware of Dog" sign is just that: a sign with no dog. This is probably how terrorists managed to find their way around airport security. Maybe when it comes to information and safety, continually switching between different approaches and processes would be more effective and successful.

JordanO_R07

I think that the notion that this placebo effect has a great impact on our lives is a very interesting one. We constantly are reinforced with signage to make ourselves seem more comfortable with our surrounding or the situations at hand. The elevator button comments I find to be especially entertaining. I myself have rushed into an elevator and pressed my floor button immediately followed by the door close button, and nine out of ten times pushing this button seems to have little to no effect. Now these buttons may be wore out, but some of these elevators I have been in are fairly new. Certainly these buttons should work in some kind of timely manner. Interesting, and humorous commentary by Michael Bierut in my opinion.

The second point I would like to comment on is the effectiveness of the national security color-coding system. I think that he makes a valid comment here. What are we supposed to do when there is a heightened level of threat? Are we supposed to run and cower? Are we supposed to not fly or not go to work and forget our daily duties? I think not! I know there some level of use for this system but really all this is doing is making paranoid people, more paranoid. Information design is a very important and very functional thing in our society. The question is however; when are we creating to much noise in our daily lives? Is it really necessary? I am not sure, but if it makes people more comfortable then I guess it serves a purpose. I just hope that with all of this information being spoon feed to us that we don’t become incapable as a nation, and dependant on these graphics to survive the simplest of task.

AndreaLR06

I laughed out loud when I read the first part of this essay. Whenever I'm walking around the city with my friends and someone pushes the "walk" button at a cross walk I always shout about how there is no way those things have any affect on the traffic lights, they are just to calm you down. I'm excited there was so much truth in my cynicism!
I think the idea that something "might" be affective is motivation enough for us to do something. The two previous houses I have lived in both had security company stickers on the window but no trace of any alarm systems. I think the idea of them scaring people away was an affective way to give piece of mind to myself and my roommates. As for it's ability to deter criminals I'm unsure of, but we never got robbed!
I some-what obsessively take certain herbal supplements. The research on some of them is limited, but the idea that they may actually be helping me in the long run is promise enough for me to spend money. Taking milk thistle, which is supposed to help liver function, makes me feel better after a hard night of drinking, even though it's actual affect isn't very concrete.
I think in our world it's really easy to worry and be far to anxious about everything. Pushing buttons and creating pretend protection can calm us down. Even though I'm aware the "walk" button by the crosswalk near my house seems to do nothing, I push it every time I'm by myself and I need to cross the street, I seriously can't help it. What if it really DOES make the light change faster?