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John Nash Has Died

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Re: John Nash Has Died

#171

Post by awfullyjohn »

tomphoolery wrote: post #119
po wrote: post #6

Such a tragic loss. Like many people, I never wore a seatbelt while riding in a taxi. I'm not really sure why, it just seemed somehow to be the social norm and I went along with it. Then one day, my co-worker and his girlfriend were both severely injured while in an accident crossing the east river in manhattan. Ever since then, I've gotten in the habit of using my seatbelt while in a taxi, car, bus, or whatever. Som…

Honestly I never understood that social norm of not wearing a seatbelt in a taxi. I'm much more confident in my driving skills than some dude yelling in some foreign language on his cell phone the entire time we're driving because at least I'm focused on one thing at a time. Sometimes the taxi doesn't even have visible seatbelts in the back (this is Philly I'm talking about, where getting around regulation is only a…

I also never understood the social norm of not wearing a seatbelt in a taxi, but went along with it for my first few years living in New York.

I think the mention of "some dude yelling in some foreign language" is unnecessary. A person's native tongue says nothing of their intellectual capacity, nor of their ability to safely navigate a city.

Re: John Nash Has Died

#172

Post by rdl »

ulfw wrote: post #94
evan_ wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cab could keep one in the trunk...

They are not one-size-fits all

I wonder how much extra you could charge for having a vehicle in the uber fleet with a variety of child seats, or similarly various handicapped accessories.

Re: John Nash Has Died

#173

Post by kejaed »

cletus wrote: post #11

The culture around seatbelts in the US confounds me. As an Australian I've spent my entire life wearing seatbelts. It's second nature. I don't even think about it. Taxis or otherwise. In fact I think it's required in all cases. But in the US people seem to view the choice to turn a mild car accident into a severe or even fatal one as some kind of moral stance or personal freedom. Or rather any effort to require their…

There was an episode of Planet Money that covered why cars made for Europe can't be driven in the USA and vice versa.

IIRC one of the differences was in the airbag requirements, where cars designed for USA driving have air bag systems designed with the assumption the occupants aren't wearing seatbelts.

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/04/18/304540007/episo...

Re: John Nash Has Died

#174

Post by rdl »

Self driving cars can't come soon enough. I'd be fine with 100x the current punishments for drunk driving if someone has the option of a self driving car and actually chooses not to use it.

Re: John Nash Has Died

#175

Post by spacehome »

jakejake wrote: post #139
cletus wrote: post #11

The culture around seatbelts in the US confounds me. As an Australian I've spent my entire life wearing seatbelts. It's second nature. I don't even think about it. Taxis or otherwise. In fact I think it's required in all cases. But in the US people seem to view the choice to turn a mild car accident into a severe or even fatal one as some kind of moral stance or personal freedom. Or rather any effort to require their…

The culture in the U.S. Is very much pro-seatbelt. Grizzly TV and billboard ads run all the time (in fact I just saw one last night). The slogan here is "click it or ticket" and police will ticket you for not wearing your belt. For some bizzare reason though, it is somehow acceptable to not wear a belt when you are in a taxi, as if you are magically protected by the "professional" driver. I'm not 100% sure but it may…

> as if that made it somehow safer.

But it does.

Re: John Nash Has Died

#176

Post by robotresearcher »

zootar wrote: post #146
sitkack wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The way we publish research is broken. So much prior art goes unpublished because it is never accepted by a journal. Negative results, meh results, and flawed research all have value. Proper citation is often difficult but can be as important as the work itself, other wise the knowledge graph is fractured.

You're not in academia, are you? There're hundreds of obscure journals and conferences with very low standards. As long as you choose venues that are within your league, you can publish anything that remotely resembles research, and it will show up on Google Scholar. A new academic paper is published every 15 seconds, and most of them are "negative results, meh results, and flawed research".

Very, very few of them are negative results. People just don't write those papers.

Re: John Nash Has Died

#177

Post by speeder »

lawl wrote: post #122
themartorana wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oddly, you get fined in the U.S. for not wearing a seatbelt in the car you're driving ("Click it or ticket!") but I've never heard of someone being cited for not wearing one in a cab. Is it because it's the back seat?

In Switzerland the driver has to make sure all passengers have their seatbelt on or they will also get fined. Cab drivers here won't drive if you don't put it on. Seems like a good solution to me.

Here in Brazil the law is like that too. I had a girlfriend that got fined once because of me :( (I forgot to put the seatbelt while I was in her car)

Re: John Nash Has Died

#178

Post by switch007 »

simpleigh wrote: post #82
toddkazakov wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am always using the seatbelt. I recently realized that when you are on the backseat of a car, by buckling up you are protecting the person in front of you. In case of an accident applying your weight to the one in the seat in front of you might cause more damage than the accident itself.

A few years ago there was a series of adverts in the UK advertising exactly this danger. You might think you're OK with only a broken nose, but you've just crushed the person in front of you to death. Sorry to sound so melodramatic, but I think that was the point of the advert!

I remember those adverts. I think they were very timely (1998) because it was only 1991 legislation came in to affect that required adults to wear seat belts in the back of the car. Various seatbelt changes were finally implemented in the 80s and early 90s, but attitudes unfortunately had not shifted much (the people who I knew, anyway).

Also, my parents and grandparents grew up in different times in which seat belts were not required, or even present in the rear.

That video also highlights something I do too often: paying too much attention to what's going on behind. The dangers ahead are far greater.

Re: John Nash Has Died

#179

Post by switch007 »

TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #112
simpleigh wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few years ago there was a series of adverts in the UK advertising exactly this danger. You might think you're OK with only a broken nose, but you've just crushed the person in front of you to death. Sorry to sound so melodramatic, but I think that was the point of the advert!

Like this one? http://youtu.be/TWLmoeoHrP4 "Like most victims, Julie knew her killer. It was her son."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_%28public_information_fi...

Re: John Nash Has Died

#180

Post by seanmcdirmid »

david-given wrote: post #169
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is probably true. Most Beijing taxis are missing rear seat belts, usually shoved somewhere. Given Beijing traffic, it is quite scary, especially when the taxi driver looks like they are at the end of a 20 hour shift.

When I was working in Beijing, the seatbelts were usually there, but tucked underneath the seat cover (and so inaccessible). I'm from the UK, where using a seatbelt is pretty much universal, and when getting into the cab I'd automatically pluck at where the seatbelt should be. Once when I was taking a ride with our agent there, a local, and he saw me do this, he told me off quite sharply for it...

You should use didi zhuanche in Beijing, it's like Uber and the vehicles are nicer (Buick or high end VW usually in Beijing) without seat covers...so the seat belts are always usable. They also give you free bottled water. A bit more pricey than the taxi, but maybe living is worth it.
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