A
phrase which hints at the
subtle way in which
traffic signals control, to a greater or lesser degree,
our lives.
Traffic signals, of course, regulate traffic; the flow, speed and quantity of vehicles and pedestrians (sometimes) through the infrastructure.
A pulse begins; a pattern forms. Traffic flows in waves.
And traffic is just movement. Human movement. Your movement.
When you get home and you're unlocking your door and the phone begins to ring and you rush inside and you get to the phone and it stops ringing and you miss your opportunity to talk to that person you love who had something important to say and you think to yourself "if only I hadn't hit those two red lights" you are a slave to the traffic light.
Behold: your life is shaped by the algorithms which shine red, yellow, green.
A song by
Phish.
These are the lyrics:
Slave to the traffic light.
Slave.
See the city, see the zoo,
traffic light won't let me through.