Jason Kottke’s latest entry, on the “social force in elevators“—as the occupancy of an elevator fluctuates, people inside instinctively move so as to maximize each person’s surrounding space—reminds me of an computer-animated short I came across a while back, called Elevator World. I think it’s kind of amusing, with its mock-serious Mechanical Universe-like feel.
As a kid, I used to while away lazy hours watching PBS, including The Mechanical Universe, an educational series on physics. So I guess my brain was getting a workout, even if I was otherwise being a couch potato. Anyway, the animations were cool—for its time, of course.
Where was I? Oh yes, elevators. The one in my apartment building is getting kind of old and is losing its memory. For example, if two people want to go to different floors, the elevator will only stop at the floor whose button was pushed first. You have to wait until the previous person gets off before telling the elevator where to continue. It’s strange. I usually just take the stairs.
The elevators at work, however, are fully functioning and actually pretty snazzy. I’ve thought to myself, I’d love to redecorate my apartment in the style of these elevators. Wood panels, brushed metal, recessed lighting. What’s not to like? Hm, this reminds me I keep meaning to calculate how much time I spend on those unbelievably long Metro escalators. In a given year, it must add up to a couple of days at least.
Whereas the elevators in my condo building are teases. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what button you push, the elevator will just blithely zoom in a completely different direction from where you need to go, pausing briefly at some random floor without opening the door and only then proceeding back in the other direction to the floor you had requested.