Re: [Phys-l] Historical trivium

[Philip Keller <PKeller@holmdelschools.org>]

But LOCAL density values are not all that matters.  What makes NJ special is that the density values extend over a great area.  If your town has a density of 5000 people per square mile, but everyone lives in town and the surrounding areal has density orders of magnitude lower, no one has to drive that much!  Here in NJ, it seems that everyone lives here and works there...

Before I moved to NJ, I was a city kid and a ciity driver.  I think that the habit of blocking the grid came to NJ from Manhattan, where it can be blamed squarely on the PEDESTRIANS!  In Manhattan, if you have a green light but you leave an inch of space in front of you at any time, armies of pedestrians stride right off the curb, against the DON"T WALK sign, mocking you for your passive driving ways.  And the car behind you is furious as you wait for another chance to go, all the time while the green light was yours.  The only defense is to drive in a way that convinces the pedestrian that you will never stop while the light is yours.  (We used to claim points for making pedestrians jerk to a stop instead of crossing on the red.  And the pedestrian's game was to walk purposefully and not make eye contact, trying to convince you that if you don't stop, you'll kill them and thus be delayed worse.)  So you adapt by leaving no room between your bumper and the next.  Of course, then when the light does change, you may get caught in the grid.  Nowadays they ticket you for that, but they did not always.  This is not just some crazy rant of mine -- when they stepped up enforcement of the grid-blocking rule, they also stepped up enforcement of jay-walking rules, even to the point of installing fences at some of the worst intersections to prevent walkers from crossing there at all.  And to be failr, driving in Manhattan seems more civilized now than it did before all this.  But has anyone here ever driven in Flushing, Queens?  
________________________________________
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] on behalf of brian whatcott [betwys1@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Sunday, November 21, 2010 6:19 PM
To: Forum for Physics Educators
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Historical trivium

On 11/21/2010 2:07 PM, Marty Weiss wrote:
> Jersey, Shmersey...   The rest of the world doesn't have 8 million people in 8000 sq. mi. with probably 10 million cars!
> > Oh really?  This list says something rather different: I was  unable to
> > find a conurbation here with a population  LESS than10000/sq mile:    (it lists those>  10000/sq mile!)
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population_density
> >
> > Ketchikan, Alaska comes close: 2300 people /sq mile
> Check again.../snip/
> Marty


I checked again: is this a ratio issue?

Lets see: your claim of  8 million people in 8 thousand square miles of
NJ  would be
ONE thousand per square mile.
As against  Ketchikan Alaska: 2300 per sq mile.    See?    :-)

Brian W
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