6 ms·

These are the worst symbols though. ⭘ should be on ⏽ should be off

guessmyname 7y ago
Can you post a picture instead? Right now I can only see empty squares in your comment: https://i.imgur.com/zXAwnbK.png https://i.imgur.com/zXAwnbK.png — (I am using Safari 13.0.3 on macOS Catalina 10.15.1) --- Edit: After seeing the image posted by @iruoy — https://i.imgur.com/OH3QTXQ.png https://i.imgur.com/OH3QTXQ.png — I have to disagree with you because the circle represents a zero (low voltage - FALSE) and the vertical line represents a one (high voltage - TRUE). If you studied computer science, logic, electrical engineering, or attended any basic course on electronics you would know that ones-and-zeroes are the written representation of an electric current, in fact, they are the basics of computing: Bits. Here is more information about the power symbol: • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_symbol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_symbol • http://www.decisionsciencenews.com/2016/10/28/off-switch-remember-line-circle-mean-think-binary/ http://www.decisionsciencenews.com/2016/10/28/off-switch-rem...
- iruoy 7y ago
  Works in latest Firefox on latest MacOS https://i.imgur.com/OH3QTXQ.png https://i.imgur.com/OH3QTXQ.png
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- squiggleblaz 7y ago
  Yeah, the circle represents a zero - but it isn't a zeno, and the line represents a one - but it isn't a one. They're graphics that seem removed from the meanings they represent. Semantically they're removed too, since turning a device on seems to have complex, multi-byte significance. And as graphics, the zero seems to represent "circuit connected" and the one seems to represent "circuit disconnected". Yet they have the exact opposite meanings! They're meant for public consumption after all.
  - ckrailo 7y ago
    I did an image search on a few search engines to make sure "on off switch" still returned the same ⏽/⭘ switches I've seen forever. Pretty sure the back of your printer probably has one. Where are these switches uncommon? Where are they flipped to the opposite meaning as you described? Where has the circle ever represented a connected circuit? Most circuit diagrams are squared off, so which one was circular? I'm so confused.
    - pasabagi 7y ago
      It's clearly supposed to be a metaphor for genitalia - with the line suggesting 'presence', and the circle suggesting absence. (Note the latin 'vagina', literally means sheath). It works better in the case of the numeral 1, which even has a glans.
      - lioeters 7y ago
        Whoever downvoted this was apparently offended by the association. However, there is insight in the point you raised, and you stated it intellectually - not in a juvenile sense, which was in the eye of the beholder. In anthropology and psychology, primitive symbols like a vertical line or a circle are often found to represent the male and female dichotomy. In fact, it's quite prevalent cross-culturally as basics of a visual language. [citation needed]
        whatshisface 7y ago
        Insight? It's false. The symbol for zero originated as a dot, indicating an unfilled place in the place value system, and evolved from there. [0] [0] https://www.newscientist.com/article/2147450-history-of-zero-pushed-back-500-years-by-ancient-indian-text/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2147450-history-of-zero...
        pasabagi 7y ago
        Obviously, your source doesn't support your argument. Just because something once had one shape doesn't mean a new shape can't have new connotations. You're jumping from 'the zero was not always a hole', to 'the zero can never symbolize a hole'. Which is pretty strange. This 1/0 man/woman white/black kind of binary is so ubiquitous in our culture it's kind of redundant to go and find examples - but it is in itself interesting that when you mention stuff like this, some people will always find a way to claim it is nonsense. I think it's a desire for security amongst political turbulence - you say, this stuff is abstract and clean and without cultural baggage, so I can hide in it from the world, which is ugly and ambiguous and provokes uncomfortable reactions. It's a kind of desire that's really common around engineering, mathsy people - I mean, part of the attraction of these subjects is you don't have to navigate anything sticky. So that's why it usually provokes a pretty extreme reaction if you profane the temple by bringing cultural stuff in.
- non-entity 7y ago
  I'm getting a rather strange rendering in Firefox 68.2.1 on Android 9 http://imgur.com/a/Q2isAPT http://imgur.com/a/Q2isAPT
  - dwild 7y ago
    As the article mentions, the O was already in the unicode, it's definition was just updated, thus your font does already include it, while the I is a new symbol, and is too recent to be in your font and thus shown.
- parliament32 7y ago
  No problems on firefox-esr (68.2.0esr) on Linux.
alecmg 7y ago
In several cars the air vents are marked with filled circle and empty circle and I always struggle to remember which means which.
- Slartie 7y ago
  Filled circle means "vent is blocked, so no air can pass". Empty circle is an unblocked vent through which air can pass.
  - gmac 7y ago
    I think the problem is those meanings can plausibly be reversed, so it's hard to remember which way round it goes. A better way to do it that I've seen is to represent air flow with wavy lines or similar on the 'open' symbol.
  - alecmg 7y ago
    Pretty sure in the last car it was the opposite. Filled circle meant air was coming. So you can see why this is confusing
- perl4ever 7y ago
  I was looking at the dials on a refrigerator, and realized I never really knew which way is which - does turning the dial towards "cold" make it colder, or does the opposite, revealing more of the indicator from the "cold" end make it colder? There is a tapered blue line with numbers, so is the wider end colder, because blue is cold and more blue is colder...or is the other end colder, because it has smaller numbers, and lower temperatures are smaller numbers?
Wildgoose 7y ago
Why? It's clearly a binary switch and zero is traditionally false, i.e. Off.

Can you post a picture instead? Right now I can only see empty squares in your comment: https://i.imgur.com/zXAwnbK.png https://i.imgur.com/zXAwnbK.png — (I am using Safari 13.0.3 on macOS Catalina 10.15.1) --- Edit: After seeing the image posted by @iruoy — https://i.imgur.com/OH3QTXQ.png https://i.imgur.com/OH3QTXQ.png — I have to disagree with you because the circle represents a zero (low voltage - FALSE) and the vertical line represents a one (high voltage - TRUE). If you studied computer science, logic, electrical engineering, or attended any basic course on electronics you would know that ones-and-zeroes are the written representation of an electric current, in fact, they are the basics of computing: Bits. Here is more information about the power symbol: • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_symbol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_symbol • http://www.decisionsciencenews.com/2016/10/28/off-switch-remember-line-circle-mean-think-binary/ http://www.decisionsciencenews.com/2016/10/28/off-switch-rem...

iruoy 7y ago
Works in latest Firefox on latest MacOS https://i.imgur.com/OH3QTXQ.png https://i.imgur.com/OH3QTXQ.png
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
squiggleblaz 7y ago
Yeah, the circle represents a zero - but it isn't a zeno, and the line represents a one - but it isn't a one. They're graphics that seem removed from the meanings they represent. Semantically they're removed too, since turning a device on seems to have complex, multi-byte significance. And as graphics, the zero seems to represent "circuit connected" and the one seems to represent "circuit disconnected". Yet they have the exact opposite meanings! They're meant for public consumption after all.
- ckrailo 7y ago
  I did an image search on a few search engines to make sure "on off switch" still returned the same ⏽/⭘ switches I've seen forever. Pretty sure the back of your printer probably has one. Where are these switches uncommon? Where are they flipped to the opposite meaning as you described? Where has the circle ever represented a connected circuit? Most circuit diagrams are squared off, so which one was circular? I'm so confused.
  - pasabagi 7y ago
    It's clearly supposed to be a metaphor for genitalia - with the line suggesting 'presence', and the circle suggesting absence. (Note the latin 'vagina', literally means sheath). It works better in the case of the numeral 1, which even has a glans.
    - lioeters 7y ago
      Whoever downvoted this was apparently offended by the association. However, there is insight in the point you raised, and you stated it intellectually - not in a juvenile sense, which was in the eye of the beholder. In anthropology and psychology, primitive symbols like a vertical line or a circle are often found to represent the male and female dichotomy. In fact, it's quite prevalent cross-culturally as basics of a visual language. [citation needed]
      - whatshisface 7y ago
        Insight? It's false. The symbol for zero originated as a dot, indicating an unfilled place in the place value system, and evolved from there. [0] [0] https://www.newscientist.com/article/2147450-history-of-zero-pushed-back-500-years-by-ancient-indian-text/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2147450-history-of-zero...
        pasabagi 7y ago
        Obviously, your source doesn't support your argument. Just because something once had one shape doesn't mean a new shape can't have new connotations. You're jumping from 'the zero was not always a hole', to 'the zero can never symbolize a hole'. Which is pretty strange. This 1/0 man/woman white/black kind of binary is so ubiquitous in our culture it's kind of redundant to go and find examples - but it is in itself interesting that when you mention stuff like this, some people will always find a way to claim it is nonsense. I think it's a desire for security amongst political turbulence - you say, this stuff is abstract and clean and without cultural baggage, so I can hide in it from the world, which is ugly and ambiguous and provokes uncomfortable reactions. It's a kind of desire that's really common around engineering, mathsy people - I mean, part of the attraction of these subjects is you don't have to navigate anything sticky. So that's why it usually provokes a pretty extreme reaction if you profane the temple by bringing cultural stuff in.
non-entity 7y ago
I'm getting a rather strange rendering in Firefox 68.2.1 on Android 9 http://imgur.com/a/Q2isAPT http://imgur.com/a/Q2isAPT
- dwild 7y ago
  As the article mentions, the O was already in the unicode, it's definition was just updated, thus your font does already include it, while the I is a new symbol, and is too recent to be in your font and thus shown.
parliament32 7y ago
No problems on firefox-esr (68.2.0esr) on Linux.

alecmg 7y ago

In several cars the air vents are marked with filled circle and empty circle and I always struggle to remember which means which.

Slartie 7y ago
Filled circle means "vent is blocked, so no air can pass". Empty circle is an unblocked vent through which air can pass.
- gmac 7y ago
  I think the problem is those meanings can plausibly be reversed, so it's hard to remember which way round it goes. A better way to do it that I've seen is to represent air flow with wavy lines or similar on the 'open' symbol.
- alecmg 7y ago
  Pretty sure in the last car it was the opposite. Filled circle meant air was coming. So you can see why this is confusing
perl4ever 7y ago
I was looking at the dials on a refrigerator, and realized I never really knew which way is which - does turning the dial towards "cold" make it colder, or does the opposite, revealing more of the indicator from the "cold" end make it colder? There is a tapered blue line with numbers, so is the wider end colder, because blue is cold and more blue is colder...or is the other end colder, because it has smaller numbers, and lower temperatures are smaller numbers?

Wildgoose 7y ago

Why? It's clearly a binary switch and zero is traditionally false, i.e. Off.