tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post8644504626535415822..comments2023-10-06T06:29:02.689-04:00Comments on A Bright Cape: The mathematics of being a jerkSkyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10723733406348223879noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-82182980790341048722013-12-15T03:47:41.098-05:002013-12-15T03:47:41.098-05:00You're also forgetting those people who will g...You're also forgetting those people who will get on the train later who would otherwise have MISSED their connection. You are delaying your train so theirs will catch up...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-1548921649453494922013-12-13T08:57:48.250-05:002013-12-13T08:57:48.250-05:00I think LeBKC has it. We can't calculate the ...I think LeBKC has it. We can't calculate the actual time wasted by any given person without knowing a lot about their circumstances, but we can observe the wide effect on people's behaviour that results from knowing that people, in general, cause jams in order to get on trains/elevators/off-ramps, etc.<br /><br />But there is an extra complicating factor. If a train I personally catch is significantly delayed in the morning then I might get to work late Then if someone notices I'll say, "Sorry, the subway had problems." By making me 5 minutes late you've actually *saved* me from 5 minutes of being at work. On the other hand, assuming this is a normal morning for me, you've also replaced those 5 minutes with 5 minutes of wrangling a toddler who doesn't understand why things are happening.<br /><br />I'm not sure which I prefer.Sthennohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05429676469805661834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-3469117574077814932013-12-12T22:19:58.994-05:002013-12-12T22:19:58.994-05:00There's a big assumption in your calculations:...There's a big assumption in your calculations: that the "best" solution is the average time taken. As a regular commuter, reliability (the standard deviation if you will) is far more important to me than the average time or rather, I insist that I have a >99% chance of arriving on time. While most of the time, aggressive actions might have minimal effect, when they do the delay is prolonged. It's unlikely, but getting caught in the door could mean a much larger delay should an injury or malfunction occur.<br /><br />In order to account for a greater standard deviation (even in the car driving situation where a shorter average time occurs) I have to leave much earlier in order to guarantee a sufficiently accurate result. This means I'm wasting far more time waiting around than would be necessary with passive people despite a lower average speed.LeBKCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-58191063973348676082013-12-12T19:40:31.234-05:002013-12-12T19:40:31.234-05:00I make similar calculations with the elevator and ...I make similar calculations with the elevator and whether to hold it for someone and/or whether I should I rush it. The added variance of which floor people are going to makes it fun. If they're below 15, holding costs me, but rushing doesn't really cost them.<br /><br />The new trains no longer get disabled when the doors jam 3 times.<br /><br />Using math, you're a jerk. But much like you can tax everyone a small amount for a special interest and they don't really mind/notice, I suspect you can get away with it without feeling too bad.Matt Vnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-59160290472634404022013-12-12T18:27:34.793-05:002013-12-12T18:27:34.793-05:00Define "better method". We can certainl...Define "better method". We can certainly come up with a more accurate calculation of how much your selfish action wasted the time of others, but to do so we would need more data. Consider just the question of missed connections: if you could gather some information about what routes people were taking on transit at that particular time of day, then that gives you a rough distribution for how many people on your particular train are going where. Then checking that against the various bus schedules at the "downstream" stops, you can get estimated probabilities that people are going to be missing their buses.<br /><br />Alternatively, you could consider this a tragedy of the commons-type scenario: the cost to the population as a whole is minimal in the case of one infraction, but what if this was the norm? If everyone did the same thing, then the guy who was three seconds behind you gets to do the same thing when the doors bounce for you... and then the woman four seconds behind him... and so on. (Some queuing theory could be applied to determine the mean length of such chains, I suppose.)M. in the Hatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-58232087865584898082013-12-12T16:46:52.442-05:002013-12-12T16:46:52.442-05:00There's also another part of this equation. Th...There's also another part of this equation. The shiny new subway trains, the Toronto Rockets, have a "safety feature" (read flaw). If the doors on a train are blocked 3 times from closing, then the door system goes into a failsafe mode, and need to be reset, and useally that happens at a yard. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06167069195359477371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-69309832190265999692013-12-12T16:39:35.490-05:002013-12-12T16:39:35.490-05:00It is certainly true that I didn't rob each pe...It is certainly true that I didn't rob each person of 4 seconds. Most of them I robbed of nothing and some I robbed of more than that due to connections, appt times, etc. However since I can't possibly evaluate those things I think a reasonable approximation is to use the amount of time I delayed the train. If you have a better method I would be happy to use it, but I doubt one such exists.Skyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10723733406348223879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-80876548635326387852013-12-12T15:40:59.647-05:002013-12-12T15:40:59.647-05:00I don't agree with your analysis. Just becaus...I don't agree with your analysis. Just because people end up spending an extra 4 seconds here does not mean that the cost to them is 4 seconds. You may make someone miss a connecting train by 2 seconds and have to wait 6 minutes, so you've cost that person 6 minutes. Or maybe someone is going to an appointment and are just going to be waiting around at the doctor's office instead. You've just changed where they are waiting. If the person is headed into work, you've robbed their company of 4 seconds of time, not them personally. I would expect that with high probability you're impact is negligible (likely even net positive, counting your time) and with small probability you're a huge jerk.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1086764876629036045.post-88658193943491219712013-12-12T14:21:37.640-05:002013-12-12T14:21:37.640-05:00I do similar things while driving. I make no claim...I do similar things while driving. I make no claims that this makes you normal though....pounderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00262914474484109738noreply@blogger.com