These are particles with a will

Dirk Helbing on Pedestrians.

IMAGINE that you are French. You are walking along a busy pavement in Paris and another pedestrian is approaching from the opposite direction. A collision will occur unless you each move out of the other’s way. Which way do you step?

The answer is almost certainly to the right. Replay the same scene in many parts of Asia, however, and you would probably move to the left. It is not obvious why.

Crowd dynamics: The wisdom of crowds | The Economist

Source: economist.com

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  1. tomszekeres posted this