News:

Thank you for your patience during the Forum downtime while we upgraded the software. Welcome back and see this thread for some new features and other changes to the forum.

Main Menu

Ordinal linguistic personification

Started by SectorZ, March 25, 2019, 03:08:42 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

SectorZ



Flint1979

How do you know that US-12 is a guy? Lol

Roadgeekteen

Quote from: Flint1979 on March 25, 2019, 07:28:00 PM
How do you know that US-12 is a guy? Lol
It's even. Odd routes are female.
God-emperor of Alanland, king of all the goats and goat-like creatures

Current Interstate map I am making:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&mid=1PEDVyNb1skhnkPkgXi8JMaaudM2zI-Y&ll=29.05778059819179%2C-82.48856825&z=5

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on March 25, 2019, 08:51:41 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on March 25, 2019, 07:28:00 PM
How do you know that US-12 is a guy? Lol
It's even. Odd routes are female.

So what makes even numbers male?   Lumping all highway numbers into a box #notallevennumberedroutes

kphoger

It seems I think of curvy numerals as being female and pointy numerals as being male.  (Geez, how is it possible I've never consciously thought about this before?)  US-177 is a very masculine route, and I-88 is a very feminine route.  I'm not sure about US-12, though;  it leans a little more toward the masculine side of the spectrum, but that kind of thing can also be influenced by what type of neighborhoods it traverses.  Dirty industrial areas make a route seem more masculine, and winding through pleasant farmland makes a route seem more feminine.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

Roadgeekteen

Quote from: kphoger on March 25, 2019, 09:31:34 PM
It seems I think of curvy numerals as being female and pointy numerals as being male.  (Geez, how is it possible I've never consciously thought about this before?)  US-177 is a very masculine route, and I-88 is a very feminine route.  I'm not sure about US-12, though;  it leans a little more toward the masculine side of the spectrum, but that kind of thing can also be influenced by what type of neighborhoods it traverses.  Dirty industrial areas make a route seem more masculine, and winding through pleasant farmland makes a route seem more feminine.
For me, 6 and 9 feel female.
God-emperor of Alanland, king of all the goats and goat-like creatures

Current Interstate map I am making:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&mid=1PEDVyNb1skhnkPkgXi8JMaaudM2zI-Y&ll=29.05778059819179%2C-82.48856825&z=5

webny99

Quote from: kphoger on March 25, 2019, 09:31:34 PM
It seems I think of curvy numerals as being female and pointy numerals as being male.  (Geez, how is it possible I've never consciously thought about this before?)  US-177 is a very masculine route, and I-88 is a very feminine route.  I'm not sure about US-12, though;  it leans a little more toward the masculine side of the spectrum, but that kind of thing can also be influenced by what type of neighborhoods it traverses.  Dirty industrial areas make a route seem more masculine, and winding through pleasant farmland makes a route seem more feminine.

You had me fooled for a minute there with the thread title!

I can't instictively assign gender roles to routes, but I can't not assign gender roles to cars. I seem to see a distinct face and personality in every set of taillights.

Roadgeekteen

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on March 25, 2019, 09:57:58 PM
Quote from: kphoger on March 25, 2019, 09:31:34 PM
It seems I think of curvy numerals as being female and pointy numerals as being male.  (Geez, how is it possible I've never consciously thought about this before?)  US-177 is a very masculine route, and I-88 is a very feminine route.  I'm not sure about US-12, though;  it leans a little more toward the masculine side of the spectrum, but that kind of thing can also be influenced by what type of neighborhoods it traverses.  Dirty industrial areas make a route seem more masculine, and winding through pleasant farmland makes a route seem more feminine.
For me, 6 and 9 feel female.
But for some reason I-90 seems male.
God-emperor of Alanland, king of all the goats and goat-like creatures

Current Interstate map I am making:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&mid=1PEDVyNb1skhnkPkgXi8JMaaudM2zI-Y&ll=29.05778059819179%2C-82.48856825&z=5

kphoger

Quote from: webny99 on March 25, 2019, 10:04:28 PM
I seem to see a distinct face and personality in every set of taillights.

Had a lot of girls break up with you in the apartment parking lot over the years, huh?
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

Big John

Quote from: kphoger on March 25, 2019, 09:31:34 PM
US-177 is a very masculine route, and I-88 is a very feminine route.
Even though the western I-88 is named the Ronald Reagan Tollway?

Max Rockatansky

I've never really associated highways with a gender but rather in colors.  For example; I tend to associate US 80 with the color blue and US 27 in Green.  Granted there was states that used to carry colored shields but random numbers have a color to me like US 395 being red in my mind for some reason. 

Scott5114

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinal_linguistic_personification

Seems like we have a tendency toward this in the roadgeek community. Small wonder, since most highway designations are numerical and thus we associate 'personalities' with them. I have to say that having it does help me immensely at work, since $17,439.51 and $17,349.51 "feel" different, so it helps me catch errors like that.

I tend to go with the even-male/odd-female thing, although 0 and 1 are both pretty 'androgynous' to me.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

Flint1979

I-75 has to be a Male though. That route goes through everything.

hotdogPi

Quote from: Scott5114 on March 26, 2019, 04:07:40 AM
$17,439.51 and $17,349.51 "feel" different

How exactly? The numbers are too large to have their own personalities, only the last digit affects divisibility by 2 and 5, swapping digits does not affect divisibility by 3, and it's hard to instantly figure out higher divisibilities.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

MNHighwayMan

Quote from: Scott5114 on March 26, 2019, 04:07:40 AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinal_linguistic_personification

Seems like we have a tendency toward this in the roadgeek community. Small wonder, since most highway designations are numerical and thus we associate 'personalities' with them. I have to say that having it does help me immensely at work, since $17,439.51 and $17,349.51 "feel" different, so it helps me catch errors like that.

I tend to go with the even-male/odd-female thing, although 0 and 1 are both pretty 'androgynous' to me.

Interesting. I've always felt that different numbers have different "feelings" associated with them, although I wouldn't go so far as to assign them personalities, as in the examples in that Wikipedia link. Honestly, it's a really difficult thing to explain.

Quote from: 1 on March 26, 2019, 05:36:35 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 26, 2019, 04:07:40 AM
$17,439.51 and $17,349.51 "feel" different
How exactly? The numbers are too large to have their own personalities, only the last digit affects divisibility by 2 and 5, swapping digits does not affect divisibility by 3, and it's hard to instantly figure out higher divisibilities.

For me, these "feelings" around numbers have little-to-nothing to do with actual mathematical properties of the numbers themselves.

webny99

Quote from: kphoger on March 25, 2019, 10:50:37 PM
Quote from: webny99 on March 25, 2019, 10:04:28 PM
I seem to see a distinct face and personality in every set of taillights.
Had a lot of girls break up with you in the apartment parking lot over the years, huh?

LOL. I can't even offer an alternative explanation. But no, definitely not.  :-D

Beltway

Quote from: MNHighwayMan on March 26, 2019, 06:17:34 AM
Quote from: 1 on March 26, 2019, 05:36:35 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 26, 2019, 04:07:40 AM
$17,439.51 and $17,349.51 "feel" different
How exactly? The numbers are too large to have their own personalities, only the last digit affects divisibility by 2 and 5, swapping digits does not affect divisibility by 3, and it's hard to instantly figure out higher divisibilities.
For me, these "feelings" around numbers have little-to-nothing to do with actual mathematical properties of the numbers themselves.

Yes, numbers have different "look and feel" about them, but as said it is hard to describe.  Also each associated with different colors.  It is a subtle thing.
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
http://www.capital-beltway.com

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
    (Robert Coté, 2002)

Verlanka

Quote from: Flint1979 on March 26, 2019, 05:30:46 AM
I-75 has to be a Male though. That route goes through everything.

It doesn't go through Miami, but stops short of it.

kphoger

Quote from: Scott5114 on March 26, 2019, 04:07:40 AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinal_linguistic_personification

Seems like we have a tendency toward this in the roadgeek community. Small wonder, since most highway designations are numerical and thus we associate 'personalities' with them. I have to say that having it does help me immensely at work, since $17,439.51 and $17,349.51 "feel" different, so it helps me catch errors like that.

I tend to go with the even-male/odd-female thing, although 0 and 1 are both pretty 'androgynous' to me.

Hmmm....  Maybe my feeling is more of an odd/even distinction than a pointy/rounded distinction.  69 feels more masculine to me than 96, even though the pointy ends of the numerals are more apparent in the latter (at the corners rather than hidden inside).
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

DJ Particle

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on March 25, 2019, 08:51:41 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on March 25, 2019, 07:28:00 PM
How do you know that US-12 is a guy? Lol
It's even. Odd routes are female.

Does this mean US-666 had a sex reassignment?   ;-)

Roadgeekteen

God-emperor of Alanland, king of all the goats and goat-like creatures

Current Interstate map I am making:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&mid=1PEDVyNb1skhnkPkgXi8JMaaudM2zI-Y&ll=29.05778059819179%2C-82.48856825&z=5

Scott5114

Quote from: 1 on March 26, 2019, 05:36:35 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 26, 2019, 04:07:40 AM
$17,439.51 and $17,349.51 "feel" different

How exactly? The numbers are too large to have their own personalities, only the last digit affects divisibility by 2 and 5, swapping digits does not affect divisibility by 3, and it's hard to instantly figure out higher divisibilities.

Looking at the personalities of the digits and the order they appear in makes them feel different. It is more noticeable in a small number like 2055 vs. 2505. I'm not concerned about divisibility at all, but mostly "if you pay out $17,439.51 and you were supposed to pay $17,349.51 then you are going to have a really bad day", so it's helpful enough for my purpose.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

abefroman329

Quote from: Big John on March 25, 2019, 10:55:57 PM
Quote from: kphoger on March 25, 2019, 09:31:34 PM
US-177 is a very masculine route, and I-88 is a very feminine route.
Even though the western I-88 is named the Ronald Reagan Tollway?
In British bingo, 88 (the numbers go up to 90 rather than 75) is known as "two fat ladies."



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.