Live-by-wire
October 24, 2008 9:44 pm
A while back, there was a show on the Speed channel about Formula-1 (F-1) racing. Formula-1 racing is that kind where they use the crazy looking uber-efficient cars, with the huge spoilers, extra intakes, big tires, etc. It’s what the movie “Days of Thunder” was about.
In this particular show, the show’s host, a stock-car racer (think NASCAR), was chatting with an F-1 racer. The host was allowed to take an F-1 car out on the track and do a few laps. They did a video analysis of the run afterwards, and the F-1 racer noted that the host could have saved a few tenths of a second if he had taken a few of the turns a bit tighter.
Now if you have ever taken a sharp turn a little too tightly, you’ve no doubt felt your inertia mix with centripetal force to give you the sensation that you’re being pushed to the outside of the curve (sort of like riding the Teacups in Disney World). We’re programmed to interpret that feedback as “careful there! You’re taking it a little fast!”
Apparently, in F-1 racing, the cars have internal computers that handle transferring the power to the wheels in such a way that you can take sharp curves VERY tightly, in order to maintain as much speed as possible as you round the bends. (That’s partly what the spoilers are for, as well — keep the rear tires pressed to the ground for maximum traction on curves). The host was instructed that he needs to “trust the car” and let it handle the curves.
Trusting the technology instead of our instincts. This just all feels so unnatural to me, and I can just feel my instincts throwing up all kinds of yellow flags about it.
I’ve been feeling the same way when I think about my career future. As a web developer, my livelihood is completely dependent on trusting the technology. If we didn’t have our communications & technology infrastructure, my skillset would be more or less useless.
My dilemma arises when weighing the benefits of a tech-career versus one that has non-technical applications and uses.
As a society, we are able to reach higher and higher the more we rely on our technological advancements and prowess. As we become more and more digital, we can process more information exponentially faster — but it becomes equally transient. If civilization vanished tomorrow, would there really be any recognizable records of our existence if it were entirely digitized? (Imagine, for a moment, if egyptian hieroglyphics were magnetically encoded onto piece of pottery rather than carved and painted onto stone walls) It’s a necessary tradeoff.
Obviously we stand to escalate society faster and faster the more we commit ourselves to technological growth. The question I ponder is whether it is worth straddling the old ways with the new as sort of an insurance policy. On a personal level — should I commit myself 100% to a career based on technology, or should I divert my time and energy to a career (or at the very least, a skill) that has some utility if our infrastructure should fall apart? What could a former web-developer offer a fallen society?
Our family does gardening, and I try my hand (often quite poorly) at basic carpentry. We are tentatively planning to raise some chickens next spring, and I am at least aware of some survival tricks (and have some books on the topic) for living off the land — but as I see it, we’d be pretty screwed if left to our own devices without the creature comforts modern society has to offer.
I am the stock-car-racer host, and I find myself taking the curves a little bit too wide because I am apprehensive about putting all my eggs into the basket of technology.
Anyone else taking their curves a little wide?
2 Responses to “Live-by-wire”
F-1 != Nascar :^)
While the engines are not necessarily efficient, they do create ENORMOUS power. The best part is that the engines are completely computer controlled so they can do neat things like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGEqlNU30Tg
Nevertheless… how aware do we need to be of all the little things? The details involved in driving have changed so you need one foot and one or two fingers.
The Wall streeters (IMHO) seem to have grown accustomed to driving 18 wheelers on ice at 80 MPH. See where -that- got us all!
If I beleive in destiny, why would I get up and go to work willingly?
If I find a nice bridge in Florida, and move there, would -that- have been my destiny?
At this time, printed materials are not generally durable, but a DVD or CDROM -seems- to be eternal in longevity. Perhaps we should start carving pictures in Stone? Should we send our information out into space on a stream thru distance and therefore time? If needed, we could travel a known (albeit astronomical) distance and capture the information later? Perhaps a Zip Drive in a lead (Pb) lined safe deposit box?
Microsofts and therefor “Our” problem is that format changes are used to ensure a revenue stream. This counters our need for durable formats. WHats wrong with JPEG and MPEG formats? We as a society
need to ensure that our increasing digital legacy will not fade over time by format shift. Its up to us… We are the lemmings so enamoured with Uncle Bills stuff. (but.. I digress!).
As far as being self reliant… thats a dream you may be challenged to find in an urban or semi-urban location. Picking some favorite crops is what I want to do at my soon-to-be-named new home…. Tomatoes… thats my aim!
We do have to pick the aspects of society to which we subscribe. Most of them are trade-offs. I will endure a day of a sore arm for a flu shot, and am glad I can travel to many remote locations in the world and not worry about contracting some of the horrible diseases that may lurk in dark corners (which is usually where the fun stuff is!). Am also fortunate to not have been victim to faulty administration.
I chose to live in a semi-rural location, and immerse in the stimulus-dense urban environments in small doses. I take things simpler, but make my choice to immerse in some things that are important to me. I dont use Credit Cards (Visa/Debit is fine!). Windows (and all its parasitic requirements) are for others to worry about. USB cables with proprietary endings are avoided. Mini-B plug is fine for me! Am getting off Compact Flash, moving to SD/mini/micro.
Gotta pick the things you want to have an opinion about, and enjoy being able to say “I have no opinion” when it fits!
I think I just struggle partly with the idea of permanence; and you hit the nail on the head with your idea about a DVD encased in a lead sheath (even that wouldn’t be indefinite though, the dye would decompose spontaneously eventually). I’m not sure it’s so much a wrangling with destiny as it is trusting in society. The Wall Streeters driving us off an icy cliff, blindfolded, at 80 mph in a semi with no tires kind of makes me wonder if I should be trusting them. For data storage, there’s really nothing that’s a surefire way to store things indefinitely, aside from simple redundancy. You sacrifice a little in storage efficiency by having redundant copies in multiple formats. (i.e. removable hard drive and some disc media)
I liken it to when I was pole-vaulting in High School. You can do straight-pole vaulting up to about 8′, maybe 8′6 or 9′ if you’re especially tall or strong — but beyond that you have to start bending. Bending is TERRIFYING… you run as fast as you can and jam the tip of the pole into the box, and rely on your momentum force (body mass * acceleration) to make the pole bend — when you’ve bent it as far as possible, you kick your feet up, swing vertically, COMPLETELY INVERT, and let the potential energy trapped in the bent pole relax back into its straight state, which rockets you upwards very quickly. But you have to trust the pole, and your approach. Every time I would try to do it I’d have these visions in my head of getting the pole bent and then having it throw me backwards (or worse yet, shoot me upwards only to fall backwards and land on the ground). It’s difficult to let go like that.
Care to comment?