Re: [Phys-l] Historical trivium

[Marty Weiss <martweiss@comcast.net>]

On Nov 20, 2010, at 3:33 PM, brian whatcott wrote:

> On 11/20/2010 10:34 AM, Bernard Cleyet wrote:
> > /snip/
> > It is understood that the IEEE, in its publications, will use whichever unit is preferred by an individual author. The Hewlett-Packard Journal has adopted a similar policy, i.e., both cycles per second and hertz may be used for a transitional time of a year or more. It is expected that full adoption of the unit hertz will then be made after this time and after broader knowledge of the unit exists.
> >
> > -Editor
> This reminds me of a newspaper piece on the adoption of traffic 
> roundabouts in the US.
> Traffic engineers like them because they are relatively low maintenance, 
> reduce serious T bone collisions in favor of minor sideswipes and 
> improve flow rates.    When polled however, intended users show a 1/3 
> approval rate, and mention that America is different, or similar.     
> After adoption, user polls improve to about 2/3 approval rates.

Those 2/3 don't live in New Jersey, where we call them *circles* and they lead to more accidents, clogging up four thoroughfares instead of two due to the fact that if there is an accident in the circle no one can get anywhere in any direction until the accident is cleared up.  Drivers learn how to manipulate circles from the minute they first take the wheel at age 16:  the secret... slow down on approach, but NEVER stop in a circle.  Car on the left yields to car on the right, otherwise keep going and work your way to the outside to exit.  It's a rite of passage to have your dad or other driver ed. teacher take you out into a circle after mastering the art of driving on the Turnpike or Garden State Parkway.  You will find that most diners are located along circles, and drivers have to learn how to enter or exit the parking lots of these diners without wrecking your car.  Many people in the car just close their eyes and pray!  We are in the process of getting rid of all of these damnations... building overpasses, jughandles, and many other elaborate highway engineering marvels... anything to eliminate these ideas from hell.   We used to be the state with the most circles in the country, but most of them are memory now in South Jersey, except for one or two that remain to plague drivers.  
I don't think it's a coincidence that we used to have the highest auto insurance rates in the country, but the recent rate reductions seem to be in direct proportion to the rate of circle elimination.  

Marty

> Brian W
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