The state has to solve the problem of the colliding interest of the inhabitants and the travelers by fooling from time to time one or the other.

On top of this was another nice detour in Chicago that, as we were heading downtown, directed us toward the outside of Chicago on the interstate!

My college study was communication, so I’ve long been interested in how the government communicates directions on its roads and have determined it is horrible at communicating.

I liken it to a book. What author (or road developer) would write a book in such a way as to confuse and mislead its reader? Not any author that wants to be successful, I’d say. Sure, people can say, “Well, that’s what maps are for, whether print or electronic,” and I would say, “What author depends on Cliff’s Notes to make his work easy to access and to encourage repeated use?” No author would!

So why do the “authors” of our roads so utterly fail at directing its readers through understandable signs (think of tables of contents, chapter titles, subheads, page numbers, etc.)? Especially with all of the digital technology today?

But, as S.M. Oliva points out, the market is once again brilliant here with online map services and constantly refined technology (e.g., GPS).

I just wish more people out there in the readership of Sports Illustrated had the critical thinking skills to see how this relates to the big picture…