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Fooled by Randomness is a series of essays on the impact of random events in life and finance. The author uses statistics, psychology, and philosophy to explain how randomness dominates our world. It’s funny how people act differently when they get behind the wheel of a car. For instance, some people become violent or angry while others are meek and quiet. Why does that happen?
The following points will help us understand why we’re so bad at driving. Psychology plays a big role in the way we drive, and by knowing this, you can avoid traffic jams and have a more pleasant experience.
In this passage, you’ll learn why changing lanes won’t help you get to your destination quicker; how zoning out while driving helps us; and that building more roads will not alleviate traffic.
Big Idea #1: Our traffic problems
When someone cuts us off in traffic, we usually get angry and aggressive. We are not made to be stuck inside a car for long periods of time because it prevents us from expressing ourselves properly. So, when something bothers us while driving, we become frustrated instead of communicating about it.
But cars are modern technology and they can’t stop human nature. We’ll do anything to get our message across, no matter how absurd it is.
For example, one study examined how people respond to being honked at. Over 75% responded verbally, even though they were separated by steel and glass!
And drivers often try to send messages that won’t improve the situation. For example, when a driver dangerously overtakes another car and we want to show them how wrong they are, we do exactly the same thing back to them. Or when someone honks at us for driving slowly and we give them the finger out of anger, which only makes it worse.
But anger has a deeper meaning: we use it to maintain our identity. When we get into a car, our sense of self is transformed into the anonymous metal box that we’re driving in. In this cyborg state, when someone cuts off your vehicle body, you feel like a part of yourself has been cut off as well. So in an attempt to protect your identity, you rage at other people on the road who are also cyborgs (i.e., cars).
Big Idea #2: Traffic jams make us feel that time is passing slowly, and they also give a feeling of unfairness.
Imagine you are stuck in traffic. You can’t see the end of it, and your bladder is about to burst because you have to go to a meeting. Your phone is dead, so you’re not able to call anyone or look at anything on the Internet for entertainment. Then all of a sudden, another lane starts moving even though there’s no logical reason why that should happen. Even though deep down inside you know that your lane will start moving soon too, it makes you even more angry than before.
Everyone has a sense of social justice. Waiting in line is frustrating, especially when you’re behind multiple lines and feel like you’ll never be served. It’s even worse when someone who arrived later than us gets served first. Studies have shown that people prefer single-row lines because it feels fairer to them; they know what order they’ll be served in and don’t get frustrated as easily.
When there are too many lanes in traffic, it causes problems. People get anxious and start switching from lane to lane, thinking that they’ll move faster if they do so. However, this is not true at all because the time difference between changing lanes and staying in one is miniscule. In fact, a study showed that people who switched constantly only moved four minutes faster than those who didn’t switch at all over an 80-minute period.
