How do you all deal with friends who say stuff about roads that are wrong?
Better yet, if a friend says a road you know well is something that is not, and calls you for knowing too much about worthless topics how do you handle them?
I'm not finding the error.
Quote from: hotdogPi on October 28, 2024, 08:00:39 AMI'm not finding the error.
Perhaps Roadman thinks there's only one Union Township in PA?
Quote from: hotdogPi on October 28, 2024, 08:00:39 AMI'm not finding the error.
I-78 doesn't connect with I-280. Worth pointing out, but forgivable.
Also, "vital for transporting goods between the Midwest and the Northeast" could be debated. In my estimation, most long haul traffic approaching Harrisburg on I-78 is continuing south on I-81 towards the interior southeast. Though I suppose
some traffic would be taking I-78 > I-81 > I-76 > I-70, the majority of traffic between Northeast and Midwest would be using I-80. But that's also forgivable, if you even consider it an error at all.
Around here the big normal person identifier is if they call the entirety of CA 1 either "PCH" or "Pacific Coast Highway."
Quote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 08:29:59 AMQuote from: hotdogPi on October 28, 2024, 08:00:39 AMI'm not finding the error.
I-78 doesn't connect with I-280. Worth pointing out, but forgivable.
....
Arguably, that depends on how one defines or uses the word "connects." If one takes it to mean a direct interchange without using another road, then it's an error. If instead it's used in the sense of passing close by so that you can easily access one from the other, then it's arguably not an error (the connection is especially easy westbound if you don't count traffic volume as part of "easy").
Quote from: roadman65 on October 28, 2024, 03:36:48 AMI'm sure we all have our stories dealing with non road geeks and when we argue we all get looks or said to be worrying about nothing.
On the other hand, can you imagine the stories non-roadgeeks have about dealing with road geeks? Can you imagine all those times the normies must be lamenting the size of the negative reaction they got from this random person, who lost their mind calling it sacrilege when they heard someone misunderstand a detail about a field they didn't spend years of their life studying, so why would they know every last detail about it? Most people aren't experts about this stuff. We should get used to it. I hesitate to call most roadgeeks "experts" in the first place, as most of them don't hold the knowledge actually leveraged to bring about reliable, functional roadway facilities and systems anyway.
Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 28, 2024, 10:34:20 AMQuote from: roadman65 on October 28, 2024, 03:36:48 AMI'm sure we all have our stories dealing with non road geeks and when we argue we all get looks or said to be worrying about nothing.
On the other hand, can you imagine the stories non-roadgeeks have about dealing with road geeks? Can you imagine all those times the normies must be lamenting the size of the negative reaction they got from this random person, who lost their mind calling it sacrilege when they heard someone misunderstand a detail about a field they didn't spend years of their life studying, so why would they know every last detail about it? Most people aren't experts about this stuff. We should get used to it. I hesitate to call most roadgeeks "experts" in the first place, as most of them don't hold the knowledge actually leveraged to bring about reliable, functional roadway facilities and systems anyway.
Here is a statistic about the GN Facebook page. On average 99.4% of our post reactions come from non-followers. We tend to get leagues more engagement from non-road people. That being the case it would be in our interest to be friendlier and explain things when needed. I've had to stop several road world people from jumping on normal-person commenters. Most people don't give a shit about pedantic detail, they just want to see something that interests them.
Quote from: Rothman on October 28, 2024, 08:23:11 AMQuote from: hotdogPi on October 28, 2024, 08:00:39 AMI'm not finding the error.
Perhaps Roadman thinks there's only one Union Township in PA?
No the I-280 connection.
I-78 don't intersect it.
Quote from: 1995hoo on October 28, 2024, 10:18:10 AMQuote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 08:29:59 AMQuote from: hotdogPi on October 28, 2024, 08:00:39 AMI'm not finding the error.
I-78 doesn't connect with I-280. Worth pointing out, but forgivable.
....
Arguably, that depends on how one defines or uses the word "connects." If one takes it to mean a direct interchange without using another road, then it's an error. If instead it's used in the sense of passing close by so that you can easily access one from the other, then it's arguably not an error (the connection is especially easy westbound if you don't count traffic volume as part of "easy").
I sort of figured that the bolded part of my comment would be the equivalent of labeling the original statement "mostly false" on a truth meter, since it requires using several miles of I-95, and isn't part of the same interchange.
And not that it matters but I'm also unsure what in particular is easier about making the connection westbound than eastbound. At first glance it looks similar in both directions, but it's a complicated area to navigate to say the least.
So, which Facebook page did that come from, "Culture" or "World Culture?" :bigass:
Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 28, 2024, 10:34:20 AMOn the other hand, can you imagine the stories non-roadgeeks have about dealing with road geeks?
"...collects maps, in this day and age?"
"...and then when I asked for directions, he started spouting about 'that road should really be even-numbered', or some such weirdness..."
"...argued about the choice of cities on those green signs; at least I think they're green..."
"...imagine not following your GPS in today's world, you might die; or worse, show up early..."
"...this weirdo was editing photos of road signs while sitting right next to me..."
(I have a hunch that last one has been said about me at least once after a flight.)
Quote from: roadman65 on October 28, 2024, 11:19:57 AMQuote from: Rothman on October 28, 2024, 08:23:11 AMQuote from: hotdogPi on October 28, 2024, 08:00:39 AMI'm not finding the error.
Perhaps Roadman thinks there's only one Union Township in PA?
No the I-280 connection.
I-78 don't intersect it.
Heh. Sure, it's an error, but nothing more and nothing less, especially since Google routinely routes people from the Holland Tunnel to I-280 (via NJ 139 and NJ 7) headed west.
Quote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 12:24:51 PMQuote from: 1995hoo on October 28, 2024, 10:18:10 AMQuote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 08:29:59 AMQuote from: hotdogPi on October 28, 2024, 08:00:39 AMI'm not finding the error.
I-78 doesn't connect with I-280. Worth pointing out, but forgivable.
....
Arguably, that depends on how one defines or uses the word "connects." If one takes it to mean a direct interchange without using another road, then it's an error. If instead it's used in the sense of passing close by so that you can easily access one from the other, then it's arguably not an error (the connection is especially easy westbound if you don't count traffic volume as part of "easy").
I sort of figured that the bolded part of my comment would be the equivalent of labeling the original statement "mostly false" on a truth meter, since it requires using several miles of I-95, and isn't part of the same interchange.
And not that it matters but I'm also unsure what in particular is easier about making the connection westbound than eastbound. At first glance it looks similar in both directions, but it's a complicated area to navigate to say the least.
Come out of the Holland Tunnel, bear left at the split as if you were going to the Pulaski Skyway, then exit right to the Newark–Jersey City Turnpike. Takes you directly to I-280.
If I were coming eastbound, I'd probably use the Garden State Parkway to connect. The other obvious option is NJ-21, but that has traffic lights through downtown Newark. Going east all the way to the Turnpike just seems too far out of the way.
Either way, I think the OP is overreacting and exaggerating by painting with a broad brush to label all "non road geeks" as "bad" based on a relatively trivial issue, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by that.
Quote from: paulthemapguy on October 28, 2024, 10:34:20 AMQuote from: roadman65 on October 28, 2024, 03:36:48 AMI'm sure we all have our stories dealing with non road geeks and when we argue we all get looks or said to be worrying about nothing.
On the other hand, can you imagine the stories non-roadgeeks have about dealing with road geeks? Can you imagine all those times the normies must be lamenting the size of the negative reaction they got from this random person, who lost their mind calling it sacrilege when they heard someone misunderstand a detail about a field they didn't spend years of their life studying, so why would they know every last detail about it? Most people aren't experts about this stuff. We should get used to it. I hesitate to call most roadgeeks "experts" in the first place, as most of them don't hold the knowledge actually leveraged to bring about reliable, functional roadway facilities and systems anyway.
This is why I side with non-roadgeeks on the issue of I-97
I said, "Hey, let's drive US-93 all the way to Canada." No one would come.
In this thread, people have been speaking about non-roadgeeks as if they were infallibly human. But the snippet Roadman65 shared sounded very inauthentic to me, so I ran it through GPTZero (https://gptzero.me/), an AI detector I learned about on a writing forum.
QuoteInterstate 78 (I-78) is a major east-west highway that runs from Union Township in Pennsylvania to New York City. Spanning approximately 144 miles, it connects rural, suburban, and urban areas across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In Pennsylvania, the highway travels through the Lehigh Valley, passing cities like Allentown and Bethlehem. Entering New Jersey, it moves through towns such as Clinton and Springfield, eventually reaching the densely populated areas near Newark and Jersey City before crossing into Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel.
I-78 is a key route for commuters, commercial traffic, and long-distance travelers. It connects with major highways, including I-287, I-280, and I-95 (the New Jersey Turnpike). Known for heavy traffic, especially near New York City, it serves as a significant corridor for regional and interstate travel. This route also sees frequent congestion, particularly around urban centers, and is vital for transporting goods between the Midwest and the Northeast.
GPTZero asserts, with 100% confidence, that the quoted text is AI-generated.
Quote from: 1995hoo on October 28, 2024, 02:04:02 PMCome out of the Holland Tunnel, bear left at the split as if you were going to the Pulaski Skyway, then exit right to the Newark–Jersey City Turnpike. Takes you directly to I-280.
OK, makes sense. I hadn't considered that route. This also looks to be possible in reverse (eastbound) but it's slightly more complicated as it requires passing through
this mess (https://maps.app.goo.gl/W3Ui8YQmDc5EUCbv5) at surface level.
Quote from: 1995hoo on October 28, 2024, 02:04:02 PMEither way, I think the OP is overreacting and exaggerating by painting with a broad brush to label all "non road geeks" as "bad" based on a relatively trivial issue, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by that.
Fully agreed, to be clear. I was just playing along with the OP's game by pointing out what I thought the error was, since it seemed that many/most others either didn't catch it or disagreed that it was an error.
Quote from: J N Winkler on October 28, 2024, 03:15:10 PMIn this thread, people have been speaking about non-roadgeeks as if they were infallibly human. But the snippet Roadman65 shared sounded very inauthentic to me, so I ran it through GPTZero (https://gptzero.me/), an AI detector I learned about on a writing forum.
QuoteInterstate 78 (I-78) is a major east-west highway that runs from Union Township in Pennsylvania to New York City. Spanning approximately 144 miles, it connects rural, suburban, and urban areas across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In Pennsylvania, the highway travels through the Lehigh Valley, passing cities like Allentown and Bethlehem. Entering New Jersey, it moves through towns such as Clinton and Springfield, eventually reaching the densely populated areas near Newark and Jersey City before crossing into Manhattan via the Holland Tunnel.
I-78 is a key route for commuters, commercial traffic, and long-distance travelers. It connects with major highways, including I-287, I-280, and I-95 (the New Jersey Turnpike). Known for heavy traffic, especially near New York City, it serves as a significant corridor for regional and interstate travel. This route also sees frequent congestion, particularly around urban centers, and is vital for transporting goods between the Midwest and the Northeast.
GPTZero asserts, with 100% confidence, that the quoted text is AI-generated.
I suspected Roadman65 was sharing another AI post. I guess that I need to learn better than to give the benefit of the doubt.
Whether or not it is AI, I feel like the actual problem here is sharing content identified as deficient just for the purpose of commenting on how deficient it is. That isn't really something we need on the forum—ideally bad content should just be ignored rather than spread.
Quote from: J N Winkler on October 28, 2024, 03:15:10 PMGPTZero asserts, with 100% confidence, that the quoted text is AI-generated.
It honestly never occurred to me that this text might
not be AI generated. Based on the writing style, organization and flow of ideas, and the fact that it was referred to as an article, I just assumed it was.
I figured that whoever shared this with roadman65 was being criticized as uninformed because they didn't pick up on the error, not because they wrote the piece themselves. In re-reading, that probably wasn't the case, but I hadn't thought about it that deeply.
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 28, 2024, 03:41:32 PMWhether or not it is AI, I feel like the actual problem here is sharing content identified as deficient just for the purpose of commenting on how deficient it is. That isn't really something we need on the forum—ideally bad content should just be ignored rather than spread.
Agreed; however, the sentiment shared by
paulthemapguy,
formulanone and others in response has plenty of potential for a more interesting and positive discussion (or at the very least, of a more humorous and self-deprecating nature rather than just broad brush criticism of everyone outside the forum).
Quote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 03:50:48 PMQuote from: Scott5114 on October 28, 2024, 03:41:32 PMWhether or not it is AI, I feel like the actual problem here is sharing content identified as deficient just for the purpose of commenting on how deficient it is. That isn't really something we need on the forum—ideally bad content should just be ignored rather than spread.
Agreed; however, the sentiment shared by paulthemapguy, formulanone and others in response has plenty of potential for a more interesting and positive discussion (or at the very least, of a more humorous and self-deprecating nature rather than just broad brush criticism of everyone outside the forum).
In any hobby or fandom, the know-nothings and the know-it-alls are either equally insufferable or amazing sources of
satori.
Quote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 03:50:48 PMQuote from: Scott5114 on October 28, 2024, 03:41:32 PMWhether or not it is AI, I feel like the actual problem here is sharing content identified as deficient just for the purpose of commenting on how deficient it is. That isn't really something we need on the forum—ideally bad content should just be ignored rather than spread.
Agreed; however, the sentiment shared by paulthemapguy, formulanone and others in response has plenty of potential for a more interesting and positive discussion (or at the very least, of a more humorous and self-deprecating nature rather than just broad brush criticism of everyone outside the forum).
Let's be actually fair, only one person has been sharing these kinds of posts lately here. This is just a tip of the iceberg of these kinds of shares by multiple people off forum. Facebook road groups are getting particularly bad with this kind of stuff.
Quote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 08:29:59 AMQuote from: hotdogPi on October 28, 2024, 08:00:39 AMI'm not finding the error.
I-78 doesn't connect with I-280. Worth pointing out, but forgivable.
Also, "vital for transporting goods between the Midwest and the Northeast" could be debated. In my estimation, most long haul traffic approaching Harrisburg on I-78 is continuing south on I-81 towards the interior southeast. Though I suppose some traffic would be taking I-78 > I-81 > I-76 > I-70, the majority of traffic between Northeast and Midwest would be using I-80. But that's also forgivable, if you even consider it an error at all.
The "vital for transporting goods between (Point A) and (Point B)" statement could be said for nearly all interstate highways, especially 2 di routes. Sure, there's some routes like I-97 where it's more a convenience for commuters or vacationers, but for the most part, I- routes move goods well.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on October 28, 2024, 04:00:09 PMQuote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 03:50:48 PMQuote from: Scott5114 on October 28, 2024, 03:41:32 PMWhether or not it is AI, I feel like the actual problem here is sharing content identified as deficient just for the purpose of commenting on how deficient it is. That isn't really something we need on the forum—ideally bad content should just be ignored rather than spread.
Agreed; however, the sentiment shared by paulthemapguy, formulanone and others in response has plenty of potential for a more interesting and positive discussion (or at the very least, of a more humorous and self-deprecating nature rather than just broad brush criticism of everyone outside the forum).
Let's be actually fair, only one person has been sharing these kinds of posts lately here. This is just a tip of the iceberg of these kinds of shares by multiple people off forum. Facebook road groups are getting particularly bad with this kind of stuff.
Not disputing that at all, but the ensuing discussion was really more about the "roadgeek vs. non-roadgeek" dynamic rather than the content of the article, and setting aside the article for a minute that's a perfectly fine and interesting conversation to have (IMO).
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 28, 2024, 03:41:32 PMWhether or not it is AI, I feel like the actual problem here is sharing content identified as deficient just for the purpose of commenting on how deficient it is. That isn't really something we need on the forum—ideally bad content should just be ignored rather than spread.
I feel like these were the same people, whom about 20-30 years ago, opened a speech/paper with
"Webster's defines _____ as....", and then moved onto quoting Wikipedia verbatim
[73][74], and now just use AI blather to create discussion.
Maybe I'm being presumptuous, perhaps they genuinely typed it out from all 15 of their fingers.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on October 28, 2024, 04:03:08 PMThe "vital for transporting goods between (Point A) and (Point B)" statement could be said for nearly all interstate highways, especially 2 di routes. Sure, there's some routes like I-97 where it's more a convenience for commuters or vacationers, but for the most part, I- routes move goods well.
Certainly, I wasn't disputing that I-78 is vital for transporting goods, but rather calling the specific Points A and B into question.
To illustrate, if the statement was "I-78 is vital for transporting goods between the Southwest and Pacific Northwest", that would be patently false.
If it was "I-78 is vital for transporting goods between the New York City area and the Capital region of Pennsylvania", that would be bang on.
"Midwest and Northeast" is intentionally very vague. You can't necessarily say it's untrue but it also lacks specificity, and as noted, I-80 is more vital for transporting goods between those regions than I-78.
Quote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 04:10:33 PMQuote from: Max Rockatansky on October 28, 2024, 04:00:09 PMQuote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 03:50:48 PMQuote from: Scott5114 on October 28, 2024, 03:41:32 PMWhether or not it is AI, I feel like the actual problem here is sharing content identified as deficient just for the purpose of commenting on how deficient it is. That isn't really something we need on the forum—ideally bad content should just be ignored rather than spread.
Agreed; however, the sentiment shared by paulthemapguy, formulanone and others in response has plenty of potential for a more interesting and positive discussion (or at the very least, of a more humorous and self-deprecating nature rather than just broad brush criticism of everyone outside the forum).
Let's be actually fair, only one person has been sharing these kinds of posts lately here. This is just a tip of the iceberg of these kinds of shares by multiple people off forum. Facebook road groups are getting particularly bad with this kind of stuff.
Not disputing that at all, but the ensuing discussion was really more about the "roadgeek vs. non-roadgeek" dynamic rather than the content of the article, and setting aside the article for a minute that's a perfectly fine and interesting conversation to have (IMO).
It isn't an article. It was something someone said to me as the topic is non road geek verses us. You're all sounding like I copied it from Instagram or Tik Tok. No it was conversational and I asked that person if he would recite it to me and did.
Stop letting Roth and his everything clickbait mind get to you all.
It's getting ridiculous how you once could talk about simple conversations you had off forum that is now clickbait even without an article.
If it were an article I would link it. Especially if it pisses Rothman off I would love to do that, but I am not going to be childish and drop to his level just to be a prick to stick it to him as life is much to important than to live for sticking it to those you have issues with.
Quote from: roadman65 on October 28, 2024, 04:53:45 PMIt isn't an article. It was something someone said to me as the topic is non road geek verses us. You're all sounding like I copied it from Instagram or Tik Tok. No it was conversational and I asked that person if he would recite it to me and did.
....
If it were an article I would link it. ....
Well, that's interesting, given that the original post in this thread says as follows (emphasis added). You don't really have standing to complain when people relied on your own representation. Unless you mean we should know better than to do that?
Quote from: roadman65 on October 28, 2024, 03:36:48 AM....
Not my article but someone else's. ...
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 28, 2024, 03:41:32 PMWhether or not it is AI, I feel like the actual problem here is sharing content identified as deficient just for the purpose of commenting on how deficient it is. That isn't really something we need on the forum—ideally bad content should just be ignored rather than spread.
The topic is about non road geeks. The line used by someone I know is just an example. It had nothing to do with gossip.
I just wanted to know how everyone else deals with know it alls in their lives, as I'm sure you have bossy friends who think they know it all.
Just looking for information and how we deal with being called names by our friends for liking roads and when they're wrong. I wasn't looking for commentary on what my friend said.
Quote from: 1995hoo on October 28, 2024, 05:00:14 PMQuote from: roadman65 on October 28, 2024, 04:53:45 PMIt isn't an article. It was something someone said to me as the topic is non road geek verses us. You're all sounding like I copied it from Instagram or Tik Tok. No it was conversational and I asked that person if he would recite it to me and did.
....
If it were an article I would link it. ....
Well, that's interesting, given that the original post in this thread says as follows (emphasis added). You don't really have standing to complain when people relied on your own representation. Unless you mean we should know better than to do that?
Quote from: roadman65 on October 28, 2024, 03:36:48 AM....
Not my article but someone else's. ...
I should have worded it better. My bad.
Maybe I should have stated I lost an argument with a friend who believes I-78 does this or that or doesn't do this or that.
However, I didn't.
But how do we deal with non road people who are wrong and say that that road enthusiasts are retarded which is what a lot my friends think.
If your friends use that word, they shouldn't be friends.
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22vital+for+transporting+goods+between+the+Midwest+and+the+Northeast%22
Case closed?
Yep, straight from World Culture:
https://www.facebook.com/worldculture0/posts/pfbid02nat1Ui7bUUaLraR1fJ8Pbpvjiohn8qgMx7cmUrbpKgBA7t58ATvdnPLJpYET7wmzl
Eh, no biggie.
Quote from: J N Winkler on October 28, 2024, 03:15:10 PMGPTZero asserts, with 100% confidence, that the quoted text is AI-generated.
It's definitely Wiki.
Quote from: roadman65 on October 28, 2024, 04:53:45 PMIt isn't an article. It was something someone said to me as the topic is non road geek verses us. You're all sounding like I copied it from Instagram or Tik Tok. No it was conversational and I asked that person if he would recite it to me and did.
I think I know the limits of my comprehension, and how this AI generated text was recited to you in conversation and ended up here in your post in written form
without being copied, despite appearing word for word in a World Culture Facebook post, is
well beyond those limits... but I digress...
Quote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 09:01:02 PMQuote from: roadman65 on October 28, 2024, 04:53:45 PMIt isn't an article. It was something someone said to me as the topic is non road geek verses us. You're all sounding like I copied it from Instagram or Tik Tok. No it was conversational and I asked that person if he would recite it to me and did.
I think I know the limits of my comprehension, and how this AI generated text was recited to you in conversation and ended up here in your post in written form without being copied, despite appearing word for word in a World Culture Facebook post, is well beyond those limits... but I disgress...
Eh, could be that this discussion happened online.
Quote from: epzik8 on October 28, 2024, 08:37:15 PMQuote from: J N Winkler on October 28, 2024, 03:15:10 PMGPTZero asserts, with 100% confidence, that the quoted text is AI-generated.
It's definitely Wiki.
Actually, there's a pretty big difference. To my knowledge pretty much everything on Wiki is human-generated (at least it was historically; I'm not sure if and how that's changed in the past few years). To illustrate this, I just ran the first two paragraphs of Wikipedia's article on I-78 through the AI detector that JN Winkler posted earlier in the thread, and it came back with a
0% chance of being AI generated.
It's also increasingly easy to tell if something is AI generated or not once you know what to look for. AI has a very specific writing style and way of organizing thoughts that tends to produce results that are concise but simultaneously vague and not conducive to accuracy in small details.
I don't claim to be a road god myself, but my neighbors get the unaddressed needs in our area. On occasion I have to explain why there isn't a direct arterial from my house across the railroad tracks to my work as well as to the main drag in town: BNSF won't allow another at-grade crossing and an overpass will be required.
Quote from: Rothman on October 28, 2024, 09:02:28 PMQuote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 09:01:02 PMQuote from: roadman65 on October 28, 2024, 04:53:45 PMIt isn't an article. It was something someone said to me as the topic is non road geek verses us. You're all sounding like I copied it from Instagram or Tik Tok. No it was conversational and I asked that person if he would recite it to me and did.
I think I know the limits of my comprehension, and how this AI generated text was recited to you in conversation and ended up here in your post in written form without being copied, despite appearing word for word in a World Culture Facebook post, is well beyond those limits... but I disgress...
Eh, could be that this discussion happened online.
The bolded phrases would suggest otherwise. Also even if it was somehow "recited" online, it still had to have been copied in order to appear here verbatim, unless the friend was literally speaking into his ear as he was typing what he heard... :-D :-D :-D
Well, I asked my friend and he admitted that he had some help. He said he read it somewhere. So I'm inclined to believe that you guys can be right. I took down the verbatim and switched the thread out to what I really wanted this to be.
I do apologize for this friend, he tends to believe in things, but I never thought that he would believe a crazy article on the net. Then again, he believed the twin towers falling was rigged by bombs. However political conspiracies are within norms of today's society to believe in.
Quote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 04:25:03 PMQuote from: jeffandnicole on October 28, 2024, 04:03:08 PMThe "vital for transporting goods between (Point A) and (Point B)" statement could be said for nearly all interstate highways, especially 2 di routes. Sure, there's some routes like I-97 where it's more a convenience for commuters or vacationers, but for the most part, I- routes move goods well.
Certainly, I wasn't disputing that I-78 is vital for transporting goods, but rather calling the specific Points A and B into question.
To illustrate, if the statement was "I-78 is vital for transporting goods between the Southwest and Pacific Northwest", that would be patently false.
If it was "I-78 is vital for transporting goods between the New York City area and the Capital region of Pennsylvania", that would be bang on.
"Midwest and Northeast" is intentionally very vague. You can't necessarily say it's untrue but it also lacks specificity, and as noted, I-80 is more vital for transporting goods between those regions than I-78.
Just wait until there's an AI article about how Trenton Makes. Every transportation route all over the world will be vital to take.
Quote from: webny99 on October 28, 2024, 09:21:24 PMActually, there's a pretty big difference. To my knowledge pretty much everything on Wiki is human-generated (at least it was historically; I'm not sure if and how that's changed in the past few years). To illustrate this, I just ran the first two paragraphs of Wikipedia's article on I-78 through the AI detector that JN Winkler posted earlier in the thread, and it came back with a 0% chance of being AI generated.
It depends on which wiki you're talking about. I can personally vouch for the AARoads Wiki being 0% AI-generated, because I know the people involved in writing most of the content. Other wikis, who knows.
Quote from: Scott5114 on October 29, 2024, 02:05:35 AMQuoteActually, there's a pretty big difference. To my knowledge pretty much everything on Wiki is human-generated (at least it was historically; I'm not sure if and how that's changed in the past few years). To illustrate this, I just ran the first two paragraphs of Wikipedia's article on I-78 through the AI detector that JN Winkler posted earlier in the thread, and it came back with a 0% chance of being AI generated.
It depends on which wiki you're talking about. I can personally vouch for the AARoads Wiki being 0% AI-generated, because I know the people involved in writing most of the content. Other wikis, who knows.
Makes sense, it just seemed that epzik8 may have been conflating the concepts of AI and Wiki (with the implication that the original text was copied from an I-78 article on either Wikipedia or the AARoads Wiki), so I just wanted to make clear they're two very different things.
I've seen several YouTube videos assert that "flyover" and "traffic light" are British terms an American wouldn't understand. I'm quite puzzled by this. Is this actually true outside the road geek community?
I thought "traffic signal" was the British term? Regardless, both get used so interchangeably that I'm not sure any English speaker would be confused by either.
Quote from: freebrickproductions on October 29, 2024, 11:07:18 AMI thought "traffic signal" was the British term?
I do think "signal" has a more formal air to it, British or otherwise. I can't say I've ever used it in everyday conversation here in the US but I think doing so would turn heads. I pretty much always just use "light" or "stop light" if more specificity is needed for any reason.
Flyover is also well attested in American usage--e.g., for the Kellogg viaduct just south of downtown Wichita.
British English road-related terms that I'd consider far more likely to trip up Americans include pavement in the sense of sidewalk (though British highway engineers also use pavement to refer to the layered arrangement of materials that sits on top of the subgrade and provides traction for motor vehicles), lane for narrow country roads, surface dressing instead of chip seal, etc.
Quote from: J N Winkler on October 29, 2024, 01:40:42 PMFlyover is also well attested in American usage--e.g., for the Kellogg viaduct just south of downtown Wichita.
British English road-related terms that I'd consider far more likely to trip up Americans include pavement in the sense of sidewalk (though British highway engineers also use pavement to refer to the layered arrangement of materials that sits on top of the subgrade and provides traction for motor vehicles), lane for narrow country roads, surface dressing instead of chip seal, etc.
"Verge" instead of "shoulder" is one that I could see being utterly meaningless to most Americans unless it were used in such a way that the context tells you its meaning (but then, some of our more hyper-literal forum members would still miss the context). "Central reservation" instead of "median" doesn't strike me as anything peculiar so much as it just seems unnecessarily wordy.
Quote from: Rothman on October 28, 2024, 08:13:15 PMYep, straight from World Culture:
https://www.facebook.com/worldculture0/posts/pfbid02nat1Ui7bUUaLraR1fJ8Pbpvjiohn8qgMx7cmUrbpKgBA7t58ATvdnPLJpYET7wmzl
Eh, no biggie.
The place offers curbside pickup though, so there's that. Of what I have no idea.
To be clear, my main point was that we should be fair. If some normies treat us badly for not living up to their expectations, that's bad, and we should grant no credence to that. But we also can't treat normies badly when they don't live up to our standards of roadgeekery. Just as normies need to learn to be accepting of roadgeeks, roadgeeks need to learn to be accepting of those who don't have the level of knowledge or interest we have in this highly particular topic.
I deal with it personally, my friends and the people generally around me typically just call freeways "the freeway" and not by highway number. I assure you, the people I talk to know nothing about geography besides knowing where the closest McDonalds is or where the new Walmart has opened up, just citing examples here. An option could try to get into roadgeeking are just browse Google Maps every day, like I do. I'm kinda surprised considering everyone should at least know something "geeky" about roads unless you are a 5 year old child.
Quote from: roadman65 on October 28, 2024, 03:36:48 AMHow do you all deal with friends who say stuff about roads that are wrong?
Better yet, if a friend says a road you know well is something that is not, and calls you for knowing too much about worthless topics how do you handle them?
At my age (45), everybody that I know is well-aware that my brain is jammed full of "useless" trivia and knowledge about several particular interests. It's a blessing and a curse of how my brain is wired. My wife and kids all appreciate me for it simply being a part of who I am, and that's all that matters.
The key is to learn how to not be obnoxious about it. Most people absolutely *hate* being corrected. If a friend or family member makes a statement about a highway, and it's not in the form of asking you a question, you should probably not respond with "Actually...." Even if they are wrong and you know better, it's OK to just let the be wrong about something, especially if it doesn't really matter. I'm well-aware that nobody that I know wants to hear me drone on about the minutiae of our local highway system, its history, numbering, etc...
When people do enjoy my knowledge and appreciate it? When they complain about traffic and I can propose a shortcut. When people wonder if/when a local road is ever going to be fixed, or what some ongoing construction project is actually doing. In fact, sometimes people will ask me directly "Say, whats all that road work down on Contra Costa Boulevard all about? Are they taking away the right turn lane?" and it's fun to give them the answer.
Also on trivia night at the bar, people *love* having me on their team....
Quote from: jdbx on October 31, 2024, 12:21:30 PM....
When people do enjoy my knowledge and appreciate it? When they complain about traffic and I can propose a shortcut. When people wonder if/when a local road is ever going to be fixed, or what some ongoing construction project is actually doing. In fact, sometimes people will ask me directly "Say, whats all that road work down on Contra Costa Boulevard all about? Are they taking away the right turn lane?" and it's fun to give them the answer.
....
Heh. For years, my brother gave me shit about knowing umpteen ways to get everywhere. He felt it was enough to know one route and he said it was a waste of time to be looking at maps or to be interested in other ways to go. Then, of course, one Friday before a holiday weekend my phone rang. It was my brother. He was stuck in traffic and wanted to know if I could give him an alternate route to go somewhere (I don't remember where). I thought about giving a snarky response about how knowing one way is sufficient, but instead I gave him directions.
My wife refers to me as the "human GPS."
Quote from: hbelkins on October 31, 2024, 02:12:38 PMthe "human GPS.
I'm kinda like that. Yet once when I put in a destination, a new way was suggested. Much better, not through a sketchy section of town.
I use it primarily for traffic info and ETA. Although from time to time my wife laughs at me, reminding me that said, "I'll never use GPS."
Then there's another divide: people who think GPS is about maps and directions, vs people who know it just tells you your numeric location.
Here's something else a human definitely wrote on social media:
Oh, the colorful quirks of Route 66! The Kansas section of Route 66 is super short, just about 13 miles, but it's packed with charm. Route 66 is generally known for its iconic red, white, and blue shield. However, Kansas decided to mark its stretch with distinctive purple shields as a nod to its unique character and importance as a tourist attraction. It's one way to make that short drive memorable and special compared to the more common signage found elsewhere. Plus, it stands out nicely against the surrounding views, kind of like a little gem in the Sunflower State. 🚗🌻
SEK looks a lot like NWA considering they're only about 80 miles apart. :)
Quote from: 1995hoo on October 31, 2024, 12:48:50 PMFor years, my brother gave me shit about knowing umpteen ways to get everywhere. He felt it was enough to know one route and he said it was a waste of time to be looking at maps or to be interested in other ways to go. Then, of course, one Friday before a holiday weekend my phone rang. It was my brother. He was stuck in traffic and wanted to know if I could give him an alternate route to go somewhere (I don't remember where). I thought about giving a snarky response about how knowing one way is sufficient, but instead I gave him directions.
I know many people (possibly including myself) who would have given both the snarky response and the directions. :sombrero:
Quote from: hbelkins on October 31, 2024, 02:12:38 PMMy wife refers to me as the "human GPS."
I've been called that and Rand McNally