Two interesting (and only related for my entertainment) news items last week:
1. Crunchgear reports: Tech-lover? People probably think you're a jerk.
“An online study evaluating the characteristics of 25,000 American
adults found avid technology consumers tended to score highly in
personality traits such as leadership, dynamism and assertiveness — but
low in modesty.”
'Avid tech consumers may be perceived as conceited or arrogant by others.'
2. Washington post reports on a Colorado State University study: Road rage linked to bumper stickers
(People who personalize their cars with bumper stickers) are far more likely than those who do not personalize their cars to use their vehicles to express rage -- by honking, tailgating and other aggressive behavior.
"The more markers a car has, the more aggressively the person tends to
drive when provoked," Szlemko said. "Just the presence of territory
markers predicts the tendency to be an aggressive driver."
(apparently the message makes no difference - those with 'peace'-related stickers are just as likely to display high levels of agression)
The key to the phenomenon apparently lies in the idea of territoriality. Drivers with road rage tend to think of public streets and highways as "my street" and "my lane" -- in other words, they think they "own the road."
As a cyclist, with a heightened sensitivity to road hazards, I'm disconcerted by my drastically altered world-view:
