Faking a Traffic Jam
I realize that this shouldn't be funny, but I find it not only ingenious but also hilarious........
Artist Shows Google Maps' Control over Our Lives by Creating a Fake Traffic Jam
Google Maps has changed the way we drive. It created a digital turn-by-turn system that is essentially free. It is an invaluable aid, with input from myriad users, in getting us to our destinations as quickly as possible. It's that social aspect of the app and service that Berlin-based artist Simon Weckert exploited with nothing more than a wagon and 99 smartphones.
Weckert wandered the streets of Berlin with a red wagon and his 99 smartphones all running Google Maps. As he meandered down the street, the Google algorithm saw 99 vehicles moving very slowly down a road and set the traffic condition of the road to red.
Be sure to read the rest of that article.
Basically, by turning that street "fake red", an unknown amount of traffic was diverted to other streets in order to avoid the "jam" that Google Maps was reporting.
Our family uses Google Maps extensively when we're doing interstate driving so we have advance knowledge of accidents or construction and can divert off onto alternate routes. We hardly ever use it in metro areas to judge traffic patterns.
But others do..... and stunts like this could create all sorts of ugly tie-ups on roads that are used as diversions.
Just another example illustrating that too much trust in technology is not a good thing.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt
