On the door to our lab is a sign. The sign states:
DO NOT DISTURB!
Testing in Progress
Here’s what got to me, as it often oddly does. Why emphasize ‘not’? I find it completely unneccesary. First of all, if you take out ‘not’, the phrase ‘do disturb’ is nearly nonsense. Secondly, it is a three word phrase starting with the unmistakable words ‘do not’. Anyone with more than fifteen minutes of exposure to the English-speaking world can register this. Emphasizing the ‘not’ is a waste of ink.
3 responses so far ↓
Ken // 14 April 2008 at 5:43 pm
And people wonder why we question our current education system? And quite frankly, if you truly do not want to be bothered, just lock the door and post no sign! I find a sign brings more disruption than not.
Jolly Andy // 14 April 2008 at 7:20 pm
Well, no matter what sign you put up, people won’t read it anyway.
E.g., the music listening lounge here at work was closed one afternoon for repairs and inventory. We left the door unlocked because we were going in and out so much and put a sign on the door that said plainly, in 40+pt bold font, “CLOSED: MUSIC ROOM IS CLOSED.”
Even with the intentional redundancy, people proceeded to ignore the sign on the door placed at exactly eye level and and just walk in and take a seat though no music was playing and they were the only person in a room that normally would have 40-80 people in it.
My favorites, though, were the ones who would stop, read the sign, walk in anyway, come to the counter, and ask, “are you guys closed?”
Fry // 15 April 2008 at 9:25 am
Nice, Jolly. There are some champions of the human race out there, aren’t there? The only really depressing factor is they’re getting a higher degree while doing that.
I think what better helps signs like that is to date them. A “Closed for Maintenance, 15 April 2008″ I think better puts in a person’s mind that the sign is accurate. I’ve seen plenty of road construction signs left up for ages past the completion of the repairs.
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