I Think, Therefore I...Think. I Think.

So as I was driving home from work today, I found myself daydreaming while stopped at a red light. This is not to say that I don't daydream while I'm actually moving, because I do- more than I'd care to admit. But this time I was lucky enough to be stopped when the daydream enveloped me. And don't ask, because I couldn't tell you what I was daydreaming about, even if I wanted to. Which I don't.

But suddenly I realize without even looking that my light had turned green so I snapped out of it and went on my way.

Fascinating story, eh?

But it has a point. Have you ever noticed how you don't have to even be looking at the traffic light to know when it changes colors? Granted, I probably wouldn't have noticed if I had been looking down, trying to find a good song on the radio. But as long as my gaze is focused in a semi-upwards manner, even if I'm staring at clouds in the sky or looking at nothing while my mind travels at a million miles per second all over the place, I always notice when the light changes.

Which caused me to think: Is that why traffic lights go from green to yellow to red? For that reason, specifically? Or would any selection of colors have the same effect?

So, I looked it up. And I present to you, for your enjoyment and enlightenment, what I discovered:

The colors used for traffic lights were adopted from the color code system used by railroad engineers. Red was chosen because it symbolizes danger or warning, and would get people's attention. Originally, green meant "caution" and white was used to signal "go". But problems arose when stars or streetlights could easily be mistaken for the "go" signal, plus if the red or green cover that is placed in front of the light bulb to create that color fell out, then the naked bulb would be white. So they made green "go" and yellow "caution".

As a side note, the green light has hints of blue in it, and the red light has hints of orange in it to make it easier for colorblind people to recognize the colors.

So there you have your obscure history lesson for the day. I was disappointed to find out that there was no real psychologically-based reasoning for choosing those colors in terms of reaction time or noticeability. Oh well. At least I don't have to think about it anymore.

For some inexplicable reason, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Generally, when I start thinking, this is not a good thing, due mostly to the overanalytical-turned-downward-spiral tendencies of my random thought pattern, which invariably result in increased numbers of insecurities, self-doubt, the compulsion to assign meaning to even the most trivial occurrences, and well, generalized unhappiness and dissatisfaction with every single aspect of my life.

In other words, thinking makes me go to my dark place. And I feel that I'm well on my way since my brain has started acting up again. So hopefully I'll run into some sort of distraction here in my life that will take my mind off this horrible thinking thing and let me live on in ignorant bliss. Kind of like Blank Stare.

But not quite exactly like Blank Stare.