Monday, February 5, 2018

Could it be a good idea to add "thank you" and "I'm sorry" lights to cars?



Imagine minding your own business when a random black pickup truck blasts out in front of you. You pass them by and they look at you but not with the usual angry it's-always-your-fault face but a gesture of saying sorry. In Japan they blink their hazard lights as a method of showing gratitude or apology, therefore why not have a light on cars that officially stands for this action. Why not have car manufacturers install "thank you" or "I'm sorry" lights on a car. Could this be a useful method to create or improve western traffic etiquette. Perhaps this can be a fun bonus feature on cars or an after market product. The lights itself doesn't have to have a thank you text or I'm sorry text. Perhaps it could be a "like" thumbs up shaped light and the sorry light can be a peace shaped light. Perhaps simple ideas such as these can be worth experimenting with to improve one's driving experience.

Taking it a step forward, why not have a digital display banner behind one's car. Where one can add custom scrolling texts or a push a button to say sorry, thank you, or a stated intention. Perhaps this can make life on the road more immersive, interesting, and meaningful. I think it allows for a layer to communicate with other drivers. The negative side to this, as far as I can see is advertising, distraction, and people inputting custom texts that are irresponsible or irrational. Regardless of the negatives, I think it's still worth experimenting.

Education as an immersive gaming experience?


Imagine a videogame, virtual reality experience, or reality-based gaming experience at a local school. Imagine students interacting with each other without the constraints of social interactions and sharing a common goal to progress and achieve. Could this help the students learn?
I had the crazy idea to have education be like a video game or a reality-based gaming experience. 
What if there was a class that used gaming platforms to which students enjoyed. Where grades acted like levels and where a student had to pass one obstacle to get to another while in the meantime learning without even knowing. An experience that perhaps allows them to work at their own pace and develops a personal strategy to approach problems and obtain solutions. If individuals at a young age adapt to technology very quickly, perhaps this could be an experiential platform and strategy that could accelerate their learning while also providing the balance of allowing them to develop their personalities, intellectuality, interpersonal communication, and creating an interpersonal social bond with others.

If such a class or activity were to be developed, I would imagine it would require psychologists, sociologists, and game designers to collaborate functional strategies to make education entertaining, stimulating, simulating, collaborative, and immersive. This allows students with different patterns of learning to learn and achieve based on their psychological development and processes. We can tweak difficulties and obstacles to cater to a student's individual needs and perhaps in the future control the rate in which they learn. Perhaps this could become or play a role in the future of education.