First heard the word "Google" at UCross, Wyoming, in 2001, when Susan Choi, working in the next cabin, suggested I give it a try. Came too late to help me much with my first novel The Law of Dreams, but it certainly made the research on the next two, The O'Briens and Karin (forthcoming 2015) a lot easier. Want to know which U-bahn and surface train lines to take to Potsdam from Charlottenburg, in 1934?---not a problem! It's great for details like that, stuff that used to require a trip to the library, a hunt for probably the wrong books, and a long wait for interlibrary loans to deliver books that likely didn't have the information either.
So, thank you, Google.
But I wish you'd lay off this concept of the driverless car. Oh I guess some cars are pretty much driverless anyhow: all those Priuses (Priae?) drifting weirdly too slow or too fast on the Maine Turnpike, cars wherein I know the driver is deeply engaged in a phone conversation and not really behind-the-wheel in any meaningful sense.
But driving at it's best is a medium for connecting with the country, the lay of the land: it's about escape, and discovery, and all that crap. Seeing the country at speed makes you think about how it all fits together. Driving means a lot to me, always has. I was raised an Irish Catholic but driving, as a ritual, always meant way more to me than Mass. So, the driverless car fills me with horror. What are you supposed to do when you're not driving? Shop online via your iPhone, I guess. Really, any behavior not connected to the buying of stuff is disapproved of in our America. Walk in the woods? NO! Forbidden! DEER TICKS! Go for drive?! Where? What's the point?
Trevor Pitchford sends this report from California:
"I spotted it about 10 miles south of Gilroy while traveling north on Highway 101. I played side-by-side for a mile or two - mainly to get a closer look and get a reaction out of the woman behind the wheel… I'm not sure if she was actually driving the self-driving car, or just sitting there autopilot-style. She didn't seem too happy to have her picture taken; She sped ahead when she saw me pointing my iPhone at her."--TP
Why can't we have two road systems? One for the people who really love to drive and do it well. The other for those who want transportation appliances. For them the self driving car is a dream.
ReplyDeleteAlso put with the 2nd group those who are clueless dimwits endangering all with their roadway antics and poor anticipation. For them the self-driving car is a necessity.
Then take all the big trucks and put the heavy freight where it belongs....on a railroad.
Voila! Driving PARADISE for me and the 6 speed manual.