does not compute

Lately, I've been noticing the dizzying number of signs blanketing the cityscape that has been causing me cognitive overload. My brain shuts down and this mishmash of words and symbols dissolve into a blurry canvas of colors and design. The entire surface of the city is a text. Graphically beautiful in some ways, but mostly it is just a huge mental drain. It reminds me of a recent episode of This American Life on NPR about a truck driver who is illiterate and navigates his route by identifying visual markers since he can't read road signs (episode 287). Though the adult literacy level of Korea is an astounding 96-99%, you wonder what the illiterate population must think. Is their sense of disenfranchisement worse than elsewhere? Come to think of it, I'm pretty illiterate. Maybe that's why my head hurts when I ride the bus. Too much, too fast.

Oh God. Apparently we've advanced human civilization far enough that we can now put billboards in space. I hope the US keeps this quiet before Samsung and LG put their logos on the moon.