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on elevators
Apr. 18th, 2008 02:01 pmIf you've got some time on your hands, this piece on elevators is pretty good reading:
In the old system — board elevator, press button — you have an illusion of control; elevator manufacturers have sought to trick the passengers into thinking they’re driving the conveyance. In most elevators, at least in any built or installed since the early nineties, the door-close button doesn’t work. It is there mainly to make you think it works. (It does work if, say, a fireman needs to take control. But you need a key, and a fire, to do that.) Once you know this, it can be illuminating to watch people compulsively press the door-close button. That the door eventually closes reinforces their belief in the button’s power.
Don't read it, though, if you've any sort of phobia about being stuck in elevators. At least in these days you can be sure to have a cell phone on you at all times.
In the old system — board elevator, press button — you have an illusion of control; elevator manufacturers have sought to trick the passengers into thinking they’re driving the conveyance. In most elevators, at least in any built or installed since the early nineties, the door-close button doesn’t work. It is there mainly to make you think it works. (It does work if, say, a fireman needs to take control. But you need a key, and a fire, to do that.) Once you know this, it can be illuminating to watch people compulsively press the door-close button. That the door eventually closes reinforces their belief in the button’s power.
Don't read it, though, if you've any sort of phobia about being stuck in elevators. At least in these days you can be sure to have a cell phone on you at all times.
