Ambiguous Visual Controls

Ambiguous Visual Controls… this one’s pretty clear actually

Avatar photo By Jon Miller Updated on May 19th, 2017

I waited and waited but didn’t catch sight of any humped zebras making a run for it. I bet their crossing frequency plots out as a histograms with a bimodal distribution.


  1. Mike

    August 13, 2009 - 2:30 pm
    Reply

    Well, they’d have a bimodal distribution if they were two-humped zebras. The one-humped zebras would only have the single bell-curve. Is a one-humped zebra like a one-humped camel or a one “l” lama (holy man)? A two-humped like a two “l” llama (South American mammal)? How about three? What is a three “l” lllama anyway?
    A very big fire…

  2. Tim McMahon

    August 13, 2009 - 6:51 pm
    Reply

    Jon, you got a laugh out of me. That was great.

  3. sharma

    August 14, 2009 - 8:04 am
    Reply

    Dear Jon,
    Forgive my ignorance. It seems to be a combination of a “speed breaker” and a “zebra crossing”. This seems to be a mistake proofing tool, as the speed breaker will ensure that you stop by the time you reach zebra crossing. Also, this seems to be more visual as there are distinct zig-zag lines on both the sides of the zebra crossing. I feel that due to the topography of the road which is high and low it might pose a risk of frequent accidents, hence this “drastic innovation”.
    Equally surprising is the darkness on the zebra crossing, while there is ample sunlight on the buildings in the background.
    What country/location is it?
    There must be a lean man like you behind all this!

  4. Jon Miller

    August 14, 2009 - 8:17 am
    Reply

    Hi Sharma
    The photo is from Liverpool, England. A humped zebra is what we would call a “speed bump” in the USA. Had I been driving, I would have been distracted by the sign and sped right into the hump.

  5. John Santomer

    August 15, 2009 - 1:27 am
    Reply

    Jon,
    What would have been a funny momment for everyone will not be so funny for whoever was run off by a vehicle while on the “Humped Zebra” crossing. The sign itself is an indication that the approach to the relativistic problem was not addressed at all. Well, relativism is an issue in iteself…
    A speed delimiter (or breaker as Sharma has said) before the “Humped Zebra” crossing would have addressed the need for vehicular traffic to slow down before actually reaching the “Humped Zebra” pedestrian eliminating the need for the incongruous sign. Alas, it provided humor for the day. Perhaps something the English could learn from their cousins in America? To which the fine English gentlemen would always claim they drive better than Americans in British open roads and alley ways…Kind’a like reading English American comics making pun of a situation? Finally, what counts is the leason to be learned as in “Kaizen” – even in failure, there are lessons to be learned. The BIG mistake will be in not learning form these lessons.

  6. Chris Nicholls

    August 17, 2009 - 1:25 am
    Reply

    Hi Jon
    Question “What do you call a three humped Zebra?”
    Answer “Humphrey”

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