WEBVTT - Do Crosswalk and "Close Door" Buttons Really Do Anything?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff. From how stuff works a brain stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Christian Seger. Pushing buttons is super satisfying. A

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<v Speaker 1>button represents a modicum of control in our chaotic world.

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<v Speaker 1>In the moment of pushing, you are the brief master

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<v Speaker 1>of your own fate. All the forces humankind have harnessed

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<v Speaker 1>have come to bow under your fingertip. But does pressing

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<v Speaker 1>buttons always have the promised effect? Do close door buttons

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<v Speaker 1>and elevators and pushed to cross buttons at crosswalks actually

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<v Speaker 1>do anything well? Physically speaking, the answer is not always

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<v Speaker 1>Psychologically the jury is out, so let's tackle the physical

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<v Speaker 1>section first. As of two thousand four, a representative from

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<v Speaker 1>the Department of Transportation in New York City said that

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<v Speaker 1>more than seventy of their crosswalk buttons had no effect

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<v Speaker 1>on their traffic signals, and as of in the UK,

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<v Speaker 1>transportation officials reported that an unknown number of crosswalk signals

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<v Speaker 1>function automatically regardless of whether anyone presses the button. The

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<v Speaker 1>estimates that they could give regarding non functional buttons ranged

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<v Speaker 1>from eight percent to but why many crosswalk buttons are

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<v Speaker 1>relics of a time before signal patterns were controlled by

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<v Speaker 1>computer systems to help streamline traffic. Removing the buttons, especially

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<v Speaker 1>in large cities like New York, could cost millions, so

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<v Speaker 1>the folks in charge have generally chosen to leave them standing.

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<v Speaker 1>In newer traffic control systems, for example, the split cycle

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<v Speaker 1>offset optimization technique could some people just like to call

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<v Speaker 1>it scoot well. For example, municipalities can program buttons to

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<v Speaker 1>turn on only some of the time. Now, think of

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<v Speaker 1>an intersection with lots of motor traffic twenty four hours

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<v Speaker 1>a day, but pedestrian traffic mostly during business hours during

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<v Speaker 1>the day when walk signals will likely be useful. During

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<v Speaker 1>every signal cycle, the buttons don't work. The walk signal

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<v Speaker 1>comes automatically at night, when fewer people are on foot,

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<v Speaker 1>you have to press the button to stop traffic and

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<v Speaker 1>cross the street. Meanwhile, reports on the functionality of elevator

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<v Speaker 1>closed door buttons vary by the source. The urban myth

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<v Speaker 1>that they're usually fake or that they're only operable with

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<v Speaker 1>the use of a key by emergency or repair personnel

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<v Speaker 1>seems to stem from the Americans with Disabilities Act. Of

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<v Speaker 1>it's current accessibility guidelines specified that elevator doors must remain

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<v Speaker 1>open for at least three seconds. In practice, this law

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<v Speaker 1>may well render closed door buttons useless to the particularly

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<v Speaker 1>impatient of us. But there's no reason to think that

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<v Speaker 1>they're all, or even mostly, placebo buttons. Yet you heard

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<v Speaker 1>me right. Placebo buttons. This is the psychology term for

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<v Speaker 1>buttons that are designed to not do anything. They're named

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<v Speaker 1>after the placebo effect. In brief, the placebo effect is

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<v Speaker 1>a confirmed phenomenon in which people experience measurable clinical results

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<v Speaker 1>with fake treatments due to the apparent power of their

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<v Speaker 1>belief in the treatment. In the world of buttons, placebos

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<v Speaker 1>have been installed on purpose in some workplaces in the

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<v Speaker 1>form of fake thermostats. According to an informal survey conducted

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<v Speaker 1>by the online publication Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration News

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<v Speaker 1>that Sounds Extremely Interesting, a majority of h VAC professionals

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<v Speaker 1>have installed placebo thermostats during their careers, or fifty one

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<v Speaker 1>out of seventy respondents at any rate. It seems that

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<v Speaker 1>managers sometimes hope that employees who would otherwise waste time

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<v Speaker 1>complaining about the temperature will be placated by pressing a button,

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<v Speaker 1>even if it doesn't change anything. After all, even the

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<v Speaker 1>illusion of control can make us happier. Check out the

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<v Speaker 1>brainstuff channel on YouTube, and for more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com.