Sunday, November 28, 2010

Design is Dangerous


There are many objects that were designed with a specific purpose or function. However, there are always unintentional side effects to the design of those objects. An example would be the function of traffic lights.
There are many beneficial ways traffic lights can have on society. However, there are also dangerous effects of a traffic light.

The function of a traffic light is to direct the flow of traffic. It helps warn drivers on when it is safe and not safe to drive.
In addition, the use of colors for a traffic light is yellow, green, and red. These colors on traffic lights do not change because of how universal traffic lights are used. This makes it easy for people to understand what color on the light means.
A dangerous problem with the design of traffic lights is the overall dependency on traffic lights controlling the flow or traffic for us. In the unlikely circumstance that all traffic lights go out, the roads become extremely dangerous. Also, when traffic lights go out, dangerous weather conditions are usually the reason, making roads much more dangerous.
The circumstance would seem unlikely, but in the event that it does; humans try to prevent it by making it a rule to know how to deal with the flow of traffic.
Traffic lights are also dangerous for those that are color blind to colors used in the traffic lights.
These elements of danger concerning a traffic light are unintentional, but the benefits of this object usually outweigh the dangers of it.

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