Bar Hill Roundabout traffic increase

I mentioned this in passing before, but it's felt like since the bar hill A14 junction roundabout was changed, the traffic got worse.

It was changed to be pretty similar, but a bit smaller, and to have the on slip road turn left from the roundabout instead of right. I can't see any reason it would make traffic worse. But since it has often seemed like the traffic is backed up over the bridge more, and backed up all the way past tesco more often.

It's not a big inconvenience, but it bugs me I can't tell if it's actually worse or if it's just confirmation bias.

A couple of other people agreed it was a bit worse the week after but might settle down as people got used to the layout, but I don't feel any more certian now than then.

Be virtue ethicist toward yourself, a deontologist towards others, and a utilitarian towards policy

I saw someone on tumblr say "Be virtue ethicist toward yourself, a deontologist towards others, and a utilitarian towards policy". I can't find the link now, I don't think I have the words exactly right.

But the more I think about it, the more I think, "isn't that the perfect description?"

Types of ethics

I tend to think of myself as utilitarian, even though I know it isn't perfect. In fact, I tend to think of *everyone* as utilitarian, as I think most people find the good thing about an ethical system, that it makes things better for themselves and others. Even if there are people who genuinely don't think that "I will do the right thing even if I'm damned for it".

However I think a big dollop of the other ethical systems is helpful in practice.

Self

The thing is, most of the time you're not facing a stark choice, "A or B." You're facing an endless series of choices, some small, some big, and will never get them all right, from a mix of "I don't have the energy to decide every case perfectly" and "I'm not that much of a saint (even if I should be)."

So cultivating a habit of choosing a virtuous choice is most of the time, more useful than agonising over the individual choice. A lot of good happens because of people who try to always be compassionate and are compassionate when it matters. A lot of harm happens when people think, oh it doesn't matter that much, don't I deserve something for myself, and get caught out when it DOES matter.

Others

When it comes to how you treat others, you want to follow your virtue ethics, but you need to default to some deontological rules too, because consistency is beneficial: e.g. usually not imposing on people who don't want you to, even if you think it would help.

And when it comes to your opinion of other people's morals, you can judge their intentions, and please do, help them if you can, but in practice, you often need to judge their actions: if they act harmfully, you may need to protect yourself, them, or others, regardless of WHY they act harmfully. If they act virtuously, it's not productive to second guess them.

Utilitarian

And when you're considering policy, you often don't have the luxury of doing what seems right, if something else is proved to be more helpful in practice, directly or indirectly.

Hm, now I'm not sure it made as much sense as when I first saw it, but I still keep thinking about it.