XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: dtravel@sonic.net   
      
   On 1/24/2014 6:07 PM, Robert Bannister wrote:   
   > On 24/01/2014 11:49 am, Dimensional Traveler wrote:   
   >> On 1/23/2014 6:57 PM, Chrysi Cat wrote:   
   >>> On 1/23/2014 6:34 PM, Robert Bannister wrote:   
   >>>> On 24/01/2014 4:03 am, Your Name wrote:   
   >>>>> In article , David   
   >>>>> Friedman  wrote:   
   >>>>>> In article <220120141849207998%YourName@YourISP.com>,   
   >>>>>>   Your Name  wrote:   
   >>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>> I once had map software on my laptop while I was entering St. Louis   
   >>>>>>>> via   
   >>>>>>>> a bridge across the Mississippi try to tell me to take a left turn   
   >>>>>>>> from   
   >>>>>>>> the divided interstate highway bridge a hundred feet up in the air   
   >>>>>>>> onto   
   >>>>>>>> the riverside jogging/bike path below.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> One example of NUMEROUS that prove self-driving cars simply aren't   
   >>>>>>> going to happen any time soon.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> I don't think that follows. As best I can tell, the Google   
   >>>>>> self-driving   
   >>>>>> car doesn't rely on just GPS and maps. It has mechanisms for watching   
   >>>>>> the actual road and traffic.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> You might as well argue that human driven cars aren't going to happen   
   >>>>>> any time soon. They too rely on a combination of information sources,   
   >>>>>> one of which is often the GPS.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Human drivers (hopefully) also use intelligence, common sens, and an   
   >>>>> ability to make decisions for themselves ...three things a computer   
   >>>>> simply cannot currently have, no matter how complicated the   
   >>>>> programming   
   >>>>> is.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Human drivers can also read road signs no matter where they are placed   
   >>>>> (other than behind a tree!), whereas a computer will have difficulty   
   >>>>> doing that in EVERY instance.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Then there are facts like many roads simply not having markings for   
   >>>>> the   
   >>>>> computer to see, or having duplicate markings where the road has been   
   >>>>> chaged for somereason. The possibilities for something not thought of   
   >>>>> in the programming are endless.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Human drivers also think they can maintain a conversation on their   
   >>>> mobile phone, another with their passengers while listening to sport on   
   >>>> their car radio and drive at the same time.   
   >>>>   
   >>> So wait, would you be inclined to ban _radio receivers_ in cars? Driving   
   >>> is boring enough that forcing people to do it in silence would lead to   
   >>> all sorts of fun reactions...   
   >>>   
   >> Multiple studies have shown that driving in silence is much safer, both   
   >> for that driver and everyone else on the road.   
   >>   
   > So long as the other passengers aren't asleep. There is perceptible   
   > difference in the silence of sleeping passengers and it is infectious.   
   > Luckily, the last time it happened to me, there were no trees, rocks or   
   > ditches on the side of the road and I managed to regain the highway   
   > without waking my passengers.   
   >   
   How does the joke go again?  "I want to die peacefully in my sleep like   
   Grandad, not screaming in fear like his passengers."   
      
   --   
   The 'Enterprise' crew in the 2009 Star Trek are adrenaline addicted,   
   hyper-active teenagers with ADD whose Ritalin got replaced with   
   methamphetamine, displaying a level of discipline that a Somali pirate   
   wouldn't tolerate.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)