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January 3

Turning corners

As we turn a corner into a new year, I have a question that I've often wondered about.

I'm walking along a footpath in a shopping area, and I turn a corner, to find a person coming in the opposite direction. We almost collide and we both have to temporarily adjust our trajectories. Usually there's a "sorry" or two exchanged. Then we proceed as planned. Since this has happened to me thousands of times, and by definition to thousands of other people who've narrowly missed colliding with me, I must assume it happens to most everybody.

My question is, since we've had plenty of practice in turning corners, why do we never seem to remember what often happens, and approach the corner a little more gingerly in the awareness that there could be, probably is, a person coming straight at us from the other direction and we're going to have to take evasive action? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 03:29, 3 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

It never happens to me, because I always approach corners gingerly in the manner you suggest. --Viennese Waltz 08:55, 3 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

When and how did you learn to do that? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 09:41, 3 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I have no idea, it's just something I've always known that I should do. --Viennese Waltz 09:51, 3 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Piriorities. It is more important to cut corners to walk a shorter distance than to avoid a potential collision which may not happen.
Sleigh (talk) 08:59, 3 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Googling the subject, I'm not seeing anything useful. But humans failing to learn from past mistakes is certainly not a recent phenomenon, especially in situations that are merely inconvenient rather than potentially life-threatening. Like VW, I often (though not always) give corners a wide berth so I can see if anything's coming. Humans often seem to be focused on the here-and-now, and your walking path can reflect that , as Sleigh suggests. Maybe the sidewalks should have lane stripes as the roads do? That might not fix it, but it might serve as a more conscious reminder. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:10, 3 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

You mention one instance in which humans exhibit behavior that they feel is beneficial, but is often not beneficial. There are many other examples:

When elevator doors open, you should expect that someone may want to get out of the elevator, but most people crowd the door and try to get on, blocking those trying to get off, creating a situation just like your corner-cutting example.
When boarding an aircraft, you should make room for people to approach the boarding gate, but most people crowd the boarding gate, creating a wall of bodies and luggage.
When waiting to turn left at an intersection with a red light (make that right if you drive on the left side of the road), you should stay back so people turning right can see around the front of your vehicle to see if traffic is coming. Many people creep forward more and more, even though they can't pull into the intersection until there is a green light.

Why do they do that? I use these examples because you can easily find studies on these topics, such as this. The basic reason is that humans are very selfish and suspect that everyone else is trying to take their stuff. You have to get on the elevator first because someone might steal your favorite spot on the elevator. You have to crowd the gate or you might lose your spot in line when your turn comes up to board. You have to creep up on that red light or someone might slip in front of you after you turn. You have to cut that corner real tight with your cart or someone might get into that aisle in front of you. 216.59.42.36 (talk) 13:09, 4 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

January 4

Wild card weekend

I do quite like a bit of American football. But as a fairly ignorant Limey, some things are a bit obscure to me.

It's Wild card weekend, and the fixtures seem baffling. I read NFL_playoffs#Current_playoff_system but it doesn't answer my questions:

1) Why don't the Wild card teams just play each other to see who qualifies for the playoffs? 2) Has this system previously been used and discarded?

The way I'd have expected it to work would be simpler and fairer on the divisional champs who have the superior record over a whole regular season.

Apologies if this is covered somewhere onwiki; in fact please point me there! --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 09:27, 4 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

As I recall, at one time it was literally "wild card" weekend, where only the four wild card teams played each other. With expansion of the league and consequent increase in the number of playoff qualifiers, "wild card weekend" really means "everyone except the top two seeds in each conference". I'll see if I can find you more specific information. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:13, 4 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Look farther down in that same link, under "Expansion". For some years prior to 1990, each conference had three division winners and two wild cards, so it was strictly wild cards on wild card weekend. In 1990, a third wild card team was added, so the lowest seeded of the three division winners in each conference were compelled to play on wild card weekend. Then in 2002, with expansion and with the conferences realigning, it went back to two wild card teams but now four division winners instead of three. In each format, the two best teams in each conference have enjoyed a "bye" during wild card weekend, with the remaining four playoff participants in each conference facing each other the following weekend. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:28, 4 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]