That's what happens because in Buenos Aires less than half of the cars will stop at a real crosswalk. I lived most of my life in Buenos Aires, and I was flabbergasted when I moved to Madrid and learned that every car stops if they even suspect you might step on the crosswalk. Ten years later and I still walk them fearfully, and don't start crossing until I see the oncoming cars stop, while the natives literally step on them without looking at traffic. As it should be.
When normal crosswalks don't do do their job, it's only natural people will ignore then. In Buenos Aires it's literally safer for the pedestrian to look for a gap in cars, crosswalk or not, and cross there, than it is to attempt to walk on the crosswalk while there are cars driving in that part of the road.
> Has there ever been a case where two self driving cars collide with each other?
I don't think that's relevant to trains. Cars can avoid a collision much more easily than trains can. Cars can swerve, and if they are at a distance at which line of sight tells them they will hit an obstacle, they are moving slow enough to stop before hitting that obstacle. Trains have to stay on tracks, and they need up to 4 kilometers to stop moving.
The constraints are very different, so the solutions and tradeoffs will be different too.
> As for Kamala Harris and her sudden southern accent in front of certain audiences...
I grew up in one place with a very marked accent, and moved later in life to a place with another distinct, very different accent. My accent shifts within minutes of talking with people from either place. Sometimes I'm in a room with people from both places, and my accent changes depending on who's in my field of view. This doesn't take any effort; in fact, I need to make an effort to avoid it.
This is how accents work. Our brain adapts very quickly to try to fit in.
(I grew up in Buenos Aires and now I live in Madrid)
I have made a similar observation, maybe even stronger: In Lower Austria, I speak the dialect, but only 50km away in Vienna, people speak in more of a "standard German" way, I'm guessing due to the large influx of German migrants and because the dialect is considered lower-class (by the younger generations especially, who, probably due to social media, speak very Germany-esque) and I've noticed I myself also switch to a "standard German" type dialect.
It's certainly not possible to keep a Jenga Tower growing forever. For each floor you add you need to leave at least one piece in a lower floor. Eventually you run out of pieces. It's possible to "complete" a Jenga Tower, but at that point it has to stop growing.
Let me restate what the OP said. (quotes used for paraphrasing, not for quoting)
"Restaurant owners set a price on their dishes, because if everyone payed at will, the owners know they would make less money. Therefore we can assume owners know that paying at-will does not optimize earnings. Therefore, it's insane that they make their staff work for pay that's at-will".
If I need anything, I will call for the waiter. I do find it intrusive and patronizing if they come and check if I need anything. I'm not "upset" about it, but it does make my dining experience worse. It also gives me the impression they are trying to get me to free up the table as soon as possible.
It is very amusing to me that in a different part of this thread people are complaining that the waiter doesn't come by enough, and here the complaint is the opposite.
The critical difference for me is if they ask while you're eating, perhaps 5 minutes after serving your table, that's OK it means they are genuinely interested in improving your experience and it's an opportunity to correct minor problems.
If they ask after you've eaten, that would be rude, from my British perspective.
The after-meal ask is to see if 1) you want dessert or 2) you want your soft drink refilled or to purchase an additional alcoholic beverage. Honestly, I think the "waiters keep pestering me" perception from Europeans is heavily influenced by the refill checks, which by-and-large aren't a thing in Europe.
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