The Physcology of Patience

Pedestrians think they are so important that they can't wait for something for a few seconds without getting upset or angry.

Clearly, without patience we will learn less in life. We will see less; we will feel less; we will hear less. Ironically, "rush" and "more" usually mean "less." The pressure of "now," time and time again, go against the grain of the gospel with its eternalism.

Patience is indeed a skill. Many people never seem to learn patience, but everyone can learn it if they try. Patience means being able to wait for something without getting upset or angry. Most people who are patient think about other things while they are waiting, or find something to occupy their minds instead of worrying.

In an article about pedestrian patience it seems as though giving the pedestrian control (in the form of a self operated cross button) does not make them more patient, rather the pedestrian feels that by pushing a button results should be instant and proceed to cross the street without caution:

Among the new crossings that made it past the Ministry's watchful eye in this period were two across dual carriageways in Swansea, a town which had only had Zebra Crossings until then. The local newspaper ran a lengthy article about it, in which their "own correspondent" visited one and detailed his findings, under the headline "New Lights Give Lesson in Patience".

"I pressed the button on one of the pedestrian crossing standards today...and observed certain results. The traffic continued to pass for several seconds.

"Some people who apparently expected the 'Cross Now' signal to appear as though at the turn of a switch, made as though to dodge across the road until a waiting policeman gently chided: 'Now, wait for it.'

"Then the traffic stopped, the 'Cross Now' appeared for 10 seconds and we were all across the road." - http://www.cbrd.co.uk/histories/pedestriancrossings/3.shtml

This article is actually about pedestrian patience...but it's really stupid and the only conclusion it makes is: "life is too short...lets all slow down" yea...ok.


!!!!READ THIS ARTICLE!!!!! "Studies show that as wide roadways become more congested, pedestrians are more likely to get hit in marked crosswalks than in unmarked crosswalks." http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthere/2008/08/the_future_of_pedestrian_safet.html