4 ms·

> So, again, how did you get this idea? Because, as JonnieCache pointed out, the colloquial definition of Auto Pilot is more informed by entertainment than by

> So, again, how did you get this idea? Because, as JonnieCache pointed out, the colloquial definition of Auto Pilot is more informed by entertainment than by the aerospace industry. What's more baffling is why anyone would assume that the average person knows what "auto pilot" means in an aerospace setting. I mean, why in the world would that be common knowledge? In fact, I've seen enough bone-headed assertions about collision avoidance capabilities of modern aircraft that I'm pretty certain even people who think they know what auto pilot means, actually don't. FWIW you can test this by finding people outside of the tech echo chamber who don't know what a Tesla is and asking them to describe the capabilities of a car with an Auto Pilot.

mikeash 10y ago
You're not answering the question, you're just repeating the basis of it. I accept that people think it means it's autonomous. Stop repeating that as if it were new to me. What I want to know is why people think that. "Because everybody thinks that, if you'd bother to ask them" is not an answer to that question.
- throwaway729 10y ago
  > What I want to know is why people think that Re-read the first sentence of my post. Perhaps you could answer my question: why would you assume someone with no knowledge of the aerospace industry would understand what the term auto pilot means in that context? Why would anyone assume the TCAS specification has a greater effect on public perception than the latest comic book movie?
  - mikeash 10y ago
    Do you have examples of this misconception being propagated by entertainment? I'm having trouble thinking of any, but that might just be my low level of knowledge. I'm not going to answer your question because you're trying to make me defend a position I'm not taking here.
- seren 10y ago
  I believe it comes from the fact that, colloquially, being "on autopilot" means doing something mindlessly, without being aware, or without thinking. So when people engage their car autopilot, they allow themselves to be on autopilot, literally and figuratively.
- throwanem 10y ago
  "Because entertainment commonly portrays it as such, and few people are familiar with the workings of pilot aids installed aboard commercial aircraft" is an answer to that question. Perhaps it is not one you like. Perhaps also it is not one which is accurate. I'm not really familiar with a lot of entertainment that includes this trope, which is not necessarily a surprise; what is a surprise is that TV Tropes, which is generally very detailed on such matters, doesn't seem to have anything covering it, either. That certainly suffices to inspire some doubt in my mind as to whether "oh, it's just entertainment" is an accurate answer, or a just-so story.
  - mikeash 10y ago
    When I asked for examples in another comment, the replies (so far) have been sci-fi movies. I'd hope that people aren't inferring real-world capabilities from sci-fi movies, but they very well could be.

mikeash 10y ago

You're not answering the question, you're just repeating the basis of it. I accept that people think it means it's autonomous. Stop repeating that as if it were new to me. What I want to know is why people think that. "Because everybody thinks that, if you'd bother to ask them" is not an answer to that question.

throwaway729 10y ago
> What I want to know is why people think that Re-read the first sentence of my post. Perhaps you could answer my question: why would you assume someone with no knowledge of the aerospace industry would understand what the term auto pilot means in that context? Why would anyone assume the TCAS specification has a greater effect on public perception than the latest comic book movie?
- mikeash 10y ago
  Do you have examples of this misconception being propagated by entertainment? I'm having trouble thinking of any, but that might just be my low level of knowledge. I'm not going to answer your question because you're trying to make me defend a position I'm not taking here.
seren 10y ago
I believe it comes from the fact that, colloquially, being "on autopilot" means doing something mindlessly, without being aware, or without thinking. So when people engage their car autopilot, they allow themselves to be on autopilot, literally and figuratively.
throwanem 10y ago
"Because entertainment commonly portrays it as such, and few people are familiar with the workings of pilot aids installed aboard commercial aircraft" is an answer to that question. Perhaps it is not one you like. Perhaps also it is not one which is accurate. I'm not really familiar with a lot of entertainment that includes this trope, which is not necessarily a surprise; what is a surprise is that TV Tropes, which is generally very detailed on such matters, doesn't seem to have anything covering it, either. That certainly suffices to inspire some doubt in my mind as to whether "oh, it's just entertainment" is an accurate answer, or a just-so story.
- mikeash 10y ago
  When I asked for examples in another comment, the replies (so far) have been sci-fi movies. I'd hope that people aren't inferring real-world capabilities from sci-fi movies, but they very well could be.