Placebo buttons do absolutely nothing, and they are everywhere - http://io9.com/placebo...
Aug 2, 2013
from
Kol Tregaskes,
Iván Abrego,
Micah,
Stephen Mack,
Eric - Final Countdown,
chaz2b,
Stephan Planken,
Brent Schaus,
Jenny H.,
Zulema ❧ spicy cocoa tart,
VALZONE#SCREWED,
Vic Ted,
rønin,
That's So CAJ!,
Andrew C (✔),
RudĩϐЯaЯïan,
John (bird whisperer),
Jennifer Dittrich,
WarLord,
Monique the crochet freak,
Big Joe Silenced,
birdelikedi,
and
Derrick
liked this
"In a piece that will make you question every publicly accessible switch, toggle and button you encounter from this day forth, the folks at You Are Not So Smart reveal the truth about so-called "placebo buttons," the triggers we've been conditioned since birth to associate with instantaneous gratification that actually do nothing. Crosswalk buttons. Thermostats. The close-door buttons in elevators. Why do placebo buttons exist? Because they are remarkably effective psychologically. And they are everywhere."
- Kevin (aka ThreadKilla)
I feel cheated. And slightly enraged.
- Kevin (aka ThreadKilla)
Some crosswalk buttons are placebos and some aren't. It depends on how interested the local urban planners are in improving the pedestrian experience.
- John (bird whisperer)
Well, this is something I've suspected...
- Spidra Webster
I think this is going to turn out to be some giant, generations-long behavioral experiment in which we are guinea pigs.
- Kevin (aka ThreadKilla)
But you never know, so you push.
- Eric - Final Countdown
(and push, and push, and wait, and push, ... till you get caught for jay-walking; maybe thats what our cam's around here do; page the camera attendants (whoever watches those cctv's), who then dipatch police to your location
- chaz2b
Sound-less crosswalk buttons I "push push push" and just wait. If it's an accessible button (i.e. beeps when pushed) I try to play a song on it. I notice a lot of crosswalks, if you don't push the button at least once, then the crossing man doesn't show up. The elevator buttons in my apartment building and office work, actually. Doors close faster when pushing the button.
- Arlan K.
Or so your brain tells you... See what I did there?
- Kevin (aka ThreadKilla)
LOL @ the paging function.
- Stephan Planken
There is an intersection in my town where the light will not change at all unless a car comes down the side street that leads to it or a pedestrian pushes the button. And I mean that...the light will stay green in one direction, forever, if neither of those 2 events occurs.
- April Russo (FForever!)