Talk:1990: Driving Cars

Am I seeing things or is there a slight shadow figure behind cueball? Cgrimes85 (talk) 17:51, 7 May 2018 (UTC)

You're not seeing things. It's a bigger Cueball, and its colors are colors like F9F9F9 and F8F8F8. Grabadora304 (talk) 18:01, 7 May 2018 (UTC)

That's very odd, someone mentioned this may have been from a draft. Have we seen anything like this before? Does anyone know Randall's actual drawing process? Cgrimes85 (talk) 19:24, 7 May 2018 (UTC)

I saw nothing on my iPad, until I brightened the display to maximum AND zoomed in. Then I saw this faded Cueball to the left of him (not above like the description says, or bigger like Grabadora said here, but the exact same size and exact same pose. If he were in the comic drawn in black, he'd be described as directly behind Cueball). Before I saw it I wondered if Randall draws these on paper then scans them, in which case this could be bleed through from another page behind. But of course it's more likely he draws on a computer. Now that I've seen it... Same size, same pose suggests to me Randall Cut & Pasted Cueball, but his background drawing colour wasn't QUITE white when he did this, so this not-quite-white replaced Cueball where he was, leaving a "ghost" Cueball. EDIT: Okay, checking again, from his feet to his upper arms, he's the same size, but shoulders and up he's bigger, his neck ending higher and his head bigger. Maybe Randall felt he made the head too big, to put it next to the speech bubble line, so he moved Cueball closer to make the head the right size. NiceGuy1 (talk) 03:48, 8 May 2018 (UTC)

This comic may also be an indirect commentary on the concern some people have about the safety of self-driving cars, which may in fact be more capable of safe driving than someone who took a 20-minute test in high school. Maybe their concern about safety is misplaced! Ianrbibtitlht (talk) 19:19, 7 May 2018 (UTC)

We have 10-12 90-minute evening lectures, a 40-minute multiple-choice test, plus 10 mandatory hours of training behind the wheel and a half-hour practical examination, but I'm really not sure to which side I want to lean with autonomous cars ... ;-) --141.101.77.248 20:08, 7 May 2018 (UTC)

While it varies dramatically by state, I think Randall is generally referencing the licensing practices in the US, which are definitely lax compared to Europe/Australia but probably more stringent than less-developed nations. Cgrimes85 (talk) 20:38, 7 May 2018 (UTC)

In the state of Colorado, USA, I took a ~5 minute multiple-choice test & a ~12 minute driving test, with no other requirement except possession of a learner's-permit. No driver's education classes, no formal training at all. Just pay the fee, fill the form, take a perfunctory test (drive around the block) & drive away with a license. This was around 1998, if I recall correctly. ProphetZarquon (talk) 00:22, 8 May 2018 (UTC)

Back in 1993, here in Canada, my requirements were a bit more slack than they are now, but stricter than that. I feel like we had to do about 20-30 minutes on the multiple choice theory exam, and the practical felt longer (though the stress might have made it feel long and it only WAS 12 minutes). I know the test was rather strict, I failed a couple of times for silly reasons - I remember once the examiner felt the need to show me where my blind spots were, I later realized that I had accidentally developed the habit of using my peripheral vision to check them, to maximize how much I keep my eyes on the road, so when he was watching he missed when I checked them. I know the rules are stricter because they changed them BEFORE I got my license, I was allowed to slip past the new rules because I had my learner's permit before - I know one rule I skipped was that new drivers got probationary licenses for 2 years or until turning 25, whichever came first. I know driving school is mandatory now (you have to register for the driver's test through your school), while I optionally took it, and I took an advanced, extra-safe school called Young Drivers Of Canada. It was something like 10 classroom sessions of I think an hour each, and something like 10 practical lessons in a car of an hour each. NiceGuy1 (talk) 03:48, 8 May 2018 (UTC)

In Colorado these days you need to drive with a licensed adult in the car for 50 hours and wait a year once you get the permit before you can take the test, at least if you are under 21 or something. If you want to get the permit before you are 17, I think you need to take a class. These rules are actually really complicated and have like 6 different age groups that all have different requirements. Still not that hard to get a license, you can even fake the 50 hours if you want to. Probably not Douglas Hofstadter (talk) 04:00, 8 May 2018 (UTC)

I'm looking forward to legally using my cellphone while driving, but not to major security vulnerabilities becoming public in my car's firmware. I worry what a distant hacker could find funny. 172.68.54.142 01:13, 8 May 2018 (UTC)

Some cars can already be turned off on the road or can even have brakes applied. You can hack your car and set the root password to something other than the default, though that doesn't help if the guy in front of you gets hacked. Probably not Douglas Hofstadter (talk) 04:00, 8 May 2018 (UTC)

Is the transcript still "incomplete"? Cgrimes85 (talk) 20:04, 7 May 2018 (UTC)

I've removed the tag. But maybe he "rubs his hands"? Any thoughts? --Dgbrt (talk) 20:26, 7 May 2018 (UTC)

Anyone know the brand of car? 172.69.33.65 20:10, 7 May 2018 (UTC)

Looks kind of like a Prius? (Source: absolutely not a car guy in any sense of the term) Cgrimes85 (talk) 20:36, 7 May 2018 (UTC)

Definitely looks like a Prius to me. ProphetZarquon (talk) 00:22, 8 May 2018 (UTC)

IDK, I feel like I usually see Priuses depicted shorter, perhaps even two-door (my main reference being Brian's car in Family Guy) NiceGuy1 (talk) 03:48, 8 May 2018 (UTC)