Finding Order In Crowds.

 

Most of the time, I am in a place where a crowd is three or four people but when I bust loose and head for the big city, I end up in the midst of those huge crowds.  You know the ones where it is one big chaotic mess but all the pedestrians tend to fall into lanes of traffic without talking to each other, without signs, with nothing more than an awareness of others.

Some folks over at the University of Bath developed a new theory on how the people within chaotic crowds manage to fall into lanes that are either curved or straight.  In fact, they can explain why this happens and whether the lines will be straight or curved.  It even takes into account when people pass on the "wrong" side.

The publication of this theory is in the field of active matter which is the study of group behavior in interacting populations ranging from bacteria to herds of animals.  In addition, it reveals a new class of structures for daily life that have previously been unnoticed. They also relied on humans to help test this theory rather than relying on computer modeling.  

They set up an arena to mimic various locations with entrance and exit gates such as the Kings Cross Station in London, had people walk through it and video taped their interactions.  Once they had the video footage, they were able to identify mathematical patterns in real life.  Although the crowd appeared to be chaotic as they passed through the two gates, one could see structure hidden inside. They discovered that the layout of the area determined if the lines were straight or curved in a line such as a parabola, ellipses, or hyperbolas. 

What made this study different is that the researchers based their approach on Albert Einstein's theory of Brownian motion which allowed them to make predictions that could be tested. It turned out their theory agreed with the numerical simulations for colliding particles so they took it a step further and tested it on humans.

They concluded that lane formation does not require specific thought. It happens spontaneously when two groups cross paths within a crowded space and are trying to avoid hitting each other. All those individual decisions result in lines forming without people being aware they are in lines. If they implemented certain traffic rules such as passing only on the right, the structure of the lanes changed. 

This theory will work when applied to a variety of situations.  I found this to be absolutely awesome.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great weekend.