On Yield Signs, Roundabouts, and Nuance

Over the past few months, a meme (in the original sense of the word) infected my brain - Yield signs.

It has been my observation that many people, especially in the US and, okay, especially in North Texas where I live, have either forgotten what they mean or never understood them in the first place. In case you are one of these people, at a yield sign one should reduce one’s speed, and be prepared to stop, if necessary.

In my experience, however, I find that the majority of people do one of two things: speed up (most common) or stop entirely (least common). Note that either of these is antithetical to what a yield sign demands.

I attribute these behaviors to a lack of comprehension of the nuance. As our society has become more polarized, we prefer monocausal explanations and boolean prescriptions - because of the singular cause of X, we must do Y and only Y. My observed behavior at yield signs is but one manifestation of this underlying challenge.

Consider then a slightly more complex situation where multiple yield signs converge at a roundabout or, if one prefers traffic circle. I confess I love roundabouts. They are far more efficient and safer at moving larger numbers of cars through an intersection than a four-way stop as this video demonstrates.

Sadly, many argue vehemently against them as inefficient and nonsensical. Once again, I attribute this to the longing to eliminate nuance.

This leads me to the following postulation - If we can’t manage the nuance of yield signs and roundabouts where does that leave us regarding the far more complex issues of our time?