In most elevators, at least in any built or installed since the early nineties, the door-close button doesn’t work. It is there mainly to make you think it works. (It does work if, say, a fireman needs to take control. But you need a key, and a fire, to do that.) Once you know this, it can be illuminating to watch people compulsively press the door-close button. That the door eventually closes reinforces their belief in the button’s power. It’s a little like prayer. Elevator design is rooted in deception—to disguise not only the bare fact of the box hanging by ropes but also the tethering of tenants to a system over which they have no command.
Nick Paumgarten: Up and Then Down. (via marco)

Source: marco

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  11. ragbag said: i’m wondering if the “push to walk” button at crosswalks is programmed similarly. the only time that i have seen effective (ie. immediate) buttons is when crossing a road that is not at a crossroad. all others seem to be ineffective.
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    marco: tomreynolds: mikehudack: youmightfindyourself)
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    I knew about this behavior so I make it a point...never hit the close door button. This...
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    Marco Arment’s reaction to...Paumgarten’s recent piece he wrote for The New Yorker about...
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