My Surreal UberX Experience

http://tomtunguz.com/uber-ride/?utm_source=HackerNews&utm_medium=Anuj+Adhiya&utm_campaign=Anuj+Adhiya

by ASquare • 12 years ago

185 42 12 years ago

debt2• 12 years ago

I think I've had this same guy near the same area. I thought initially he was doing it to avoid conversation with passengers and to hopefully over hear some juicy valley gossip.

Or he was just deaf.

avree3• 12 years ago

Why would you immediately assume such a negative scenario?

batmansbelt• 12 years ago

Inverse Hanlan's Razor.

oh_sigh• 12 years ago

How is that a negative scenario? Not wanting to have a conversation isn't a crime.

debt2• 12 years ago

There are some strange people our here in the valley. I thought maybe he was one. Either way, the thought crossed my mind and I posted it here because there's also some strange people on HN that I thought could relate.

ynniv3• 12 years ago

Nothing a cab stand, cash, and pen and paper hadn't already solved.

A wise man once said: "Don't be too proud of this technological experience you've constructed. The ability to incorporate technology into a solution is insignificant next to the power of human ingenuity."

Or something like that.

joshdance• 12 years ago

I don't carry a sign language dictionary with me. The driver might have had one in his car. But regardless, the problems are now solved better than before and that is a little surreal.

ynniv3• 12 years ago

I don't carry a sign language dictionary with me. The driver might have had one in his car.

OR A PEN.

PROTIP: COMMUNICATE BY WRITING WITH THE PEN.

Edit for clarity: I suppose that I deserve the hate for using caps, but I'm amazed that people think access to a sign language dictionary on your phone is a better way to communicate with a deaf person than a pen and paper. Sure the poster was able to learn a single sign that he ended his interaction with, but he could have nodded or waved to the same effect and would not be able to hold a conversation. With a writing implement he would be able to richly communicate with the driver, including diagrams for route choice or drawings of landmarks to navigate to a place he didn't know the address or name of. There are many impressive capabilities that modern technology provides us, but sometimes we get lost in thinking that they are revolutionary. There's nothing wrong with reveling in an experience, but you should recognize that it is only indulgence.

evanlivingston• 12 years ago

He could have mouthed "thank you" as well.

heyheyhey• 12 years ago

Nothing a cab stand, cash, and pen and paper hadn't already solved.

You could use that analogy for pretty much any technological innovation the past 50 years.

ynniv3• 12 years ago

Like public key cryptography.

soperj• 12 years ago

Space flight???

joyeuse6701• 12 years ago

Ok Darth Vader ;)

adamio• 12 years ago

The technology to give this deaf man hearing, and eliminate the need for drivers is the really interesting thing

fractalsea• 12 years ago

I agree that that would be more awesome. That doesn't take away from this cool story though.

Also, we're getting there. I recently saw this clip of a woman hearing for the first time. Powerful stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rja_LI0izK8

mikeryan• 12 years ago

The technology to give this deaf man hearing,

You mean like a pen and paper?

samstave• 12 years ago

Can you hear through your eyes?

antonioevans• 12 years ago

I am not deaf or blind, but podcasts give me the same experiences. Specifically Radio Lab or This American Life. Growing up in the TV generation we are so use to one stimuli...the visual one.

We forget about the way the other ones are so fresh and sensitive.

applecore• 12 years ago

I'm surprised you still have to communicate your destination to the driver after you get in the car. Shouldn't Uber let you specify your destination in advance, entirely through the app?

pgt2• 12 years ago

Uber does not disclose passenger destinations to drivers to prevent discrimination, e.g. far-away pick-ups with short rides.

dave51043• 12 years ago

A month or so ago, I made the mistake of answering a text message from my en route driver asking where I was going. I thought, "Oh nice, he's plugging it into GPS beforehand." But I was wrong. He must have not liked my destination because the trip was promptly canceled by the driver and I had to spend another 15 minutes waiting for a new one.

Lesson learned: never tell your Uber driver your destination before you get into the car. :\

paulannesley• 12 years ago

Uber could wait until you've been collected before passing that information to the driver.

vivekpreddy• 12 years ago

Had a similar experience with a Lyft driver recently. Thought he simply didn't want to talk, but realized he was deaf shortly after.

Decided to navigate him myself and didn't have any issues at all. Glad to see that those less fortunate are finding more opportunity due to improvements in technology. Hope to see more of this in the future.

ulfw• 12 years ago

Wow what qualifies as 'surreal' these days...

JetSpiegel• 12 years ago

Dalí must be ejaculating in his grave...

batbomb• 12 years ago

I worked at Sorenson VRS with deaf people for six months while they were developing the mobile VRS app, as well as "BuzzCards", which was precisely a digital notepad with many saved notes of things you'd say often, like Starbucks orders, addresses, basically just canned phrases or stuff to create on-the-go.

While I was there, I never had to actually learn sign language to even communicate with my deaf coworkers, and this was in a technical environment.

One coworker could mouth sounds adequately enough to understand. Most could read lips just fine. In some scenarios, we'd communicate with a small portable whiteboard. The deaf people I knew could write very quickly and tersely, which would be much more efficient than anything you could do via phone.

This experience is only surreal if you've never spent any significant amount of time around deaf people.

maxisnow• 12 years ago

Funny everyone is picking on the tech part. Being a SOMA-dweller I immediately wanted to pick on the idea that Sightglass is "deep South of Market". Every direction is single digits of blocks out of SOMA.

bjeanes• 12 years ago

I had the exact same experience except with Lyft and it was a Galaxy Note hah!

My Surreal UberX Experience

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