Welcome back, you creative human beans! Last week, we dug into the pantry and spilled beans across our imaginations. Did you sort beans by leadership potential, invent a no-cook summer recipe or curl your body into the shape of a sprout? Even if all you did was open a can, I hope one small idea grew into something nourishing.
Summer is a great time for a road trip. This week, we’re getting into the car and telegraphing our desire to take a new direction by turning our attention to the turn signal.
The turn signal is one of the few features in my early-2000s car that seems designed just for me. Sometimes I leave it blinking long after I’ve turned or merged. After thirty seconds, seems reasonable, the car dings to ask if this is really the way I want to present myself to other commuters.
Consider a turn signal as a small public statement about the future. Until that near future where you no longer have to watch the road while driving, we still need ways to keep each other in the loop. Brake lights tell everyone what is happening right now. A turn signal announces what you hope to do next: I intend to move several thousand pounds of metal at a high rate of speed in your direction. Please plan accordingly.
Of course, a turn signal is only a promise. Some drivers make that promise moments before turning. Others announce their plans three intersections in advance.
The indicator light is only one of the signals telling us what to expect in the (very) near future. We encounter painted arrows, traffic lights, and GPS instructions from the build world around us. Drivers, cyclists and pedestrians also signal with arms, eye contact, and position. Transportation is a creative endeavor that engages your mind and your body in a sometimes exciting, sometimes dangerous, fashion. Getting anywhere requires reading a collaborative artwork made from light, movement and educated guesses about what the rest of us are thinking.
These activities may work best while riding as a passenger or exploring with a carload of creative collaborators. Feel free to try it out while playing a driving video game or simulator. Keep your hands at ten and two, and use these prompts to make something uniquely you:
- Turn by Turn: From the passenger seat, count every signal about direction: Blinkers, arrows, purposefully arranged cones, pedestrian hand gestures. Turn your findings into a field guide to local navigation for your vlog.
- Lean Into It: As a passenger on a familiar stretch of road, close your eyes for a few safe minutes and feel the turns. Notice your balance shifting, the pressure against the seat, changes in engine sound and sunlight moving across your face. After the car is parked, draw the route from bodily memory. Accuracy is less important than discovering what your inner compass thinks happened.
- What a Twist: Begin telling a story aloud with your passengers. Every time the car makes a turn, the story must also change direction. A left turn introduces a new character. A right turn reveals a secret. A U-turn triggers a flashback. Reaching the destination ends the story, whether the characters are emotionally prepared or not.
- More Than Turn: Design signals for messages cars cannot currently communicate. We have horns for danger and blinkers for direction, but what about “Sorry,” “I’m lost,” “Beautiful dog” or “Yes, I know my turn signal is still on and I like it that way?” Sketch the dashboard symbols, assign each one a light pattern and decide which one you will use the most.
Creativity is also a signal of intention. It doesn’t guarantee where we are going; it merely says that we would like to change direction. This week, notice the flashing arrows and the gentle internal dings asking you to reconsider your route.
This column was written with help from ChatGPT, happy to help me direct traffic in the busy interchange of my human imagination.
