What is Digg?153 Comments
- ShadySpace, on 02/17/2008, -2/+88Why is the preview image Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men?
- Indyanna, on 02/17/2008, -5/+88"Not me, dude. No way. I'm unique. I'm independent. I'm not like everybody else."
says everyone who reads this article. - Ephemeralnode, on 02/17/2008, -2/+38Because the unfamiliar is a wise place to venture in a state of duress?
- tschau, on 02/17/2008, -0/+35That was the only reason I clicked this! I feel like I've been somehow.... misled.......
- rattleme, on 02/17/2008, -0/+34These people were in a building they have probably never been to before. The other route is unknown to them. I would rather take the same route back than wonder around the building for 20 minutes. Doing the familiar is not dumb, its basic survival to go with the known instead of taking risks. Why do you think 'less evolved' species are still alive and around?
- georgetds, on 02/17/2008, -0/+31So, rather then risk getting lost, people will take the same route back. It makes sense to me, but maybe that is because I am only sophisticated as an ant. I wonder what happens when you give people time to experiment? Like say, have them live there for a while.
- S1ngular1ty1, on 02/17/2008, -0/+27I must Digg this, it is on the front page. +1
- nullcodes, on 02/17/2008, -0/+24If we were like ants, we'd all be 100% employed -- but working as slaves in some sort of dictatorship.
Hmm, they don't have unemployment .. those ants,. - Goldennova, on 02/17/2008, -0/+23Buried as inaccurate.
First of all, in an emergency people always run and take the fastest route possible. I speak from experience that if an emergency occurs, people don't pay attention to escape routes they learned during fire drills. They just run and take the fastest route out possible.
The experiment the author is mentioning is also extremely flawed. The people were in a place which they did not know. Obviously they will use the only route they know. If the people were shown several routes and chose to go back to the beginning, I'm sure that most people would take the faster route. It's common sense to use the route you know. They wouldn't go off wandering around an unknown building.
I completely disagree with this article. Humans are nothing like ants and this is a random opinion based on random "experiments". we are much more psychologically advanced then ants and fish and do not just follow the leader. - kbaz, on 02/17/2008, -2/+16I believe it. But--ants will probably follow out of necessity where as we can be told what to do and believe through marketing, propaganda and the media in general.
We'd be better off as ants. - bassman12593, on 02/17/2008, -1/+14but ants have six legs
- 1310nm, on 02/17/2008, -1/+13Isn't it funny how saturating the media with annoying praise can kill someone's perception of a candidate?
- bfrank72, on 02/17/2008, -1/+10That first line pretty much ruined my day.
- satanatnmtedu, on 02/17/2008, -0/+9What the article didn't mention was peer pressure to conform. I think this is what is going on, but the experiment WASN'T done under duress. So, the conclusions may not be true. They should have planned a mole that tried to convince some of the participants to take the shorter route to see if there was any impact. All in all it is a crappy study.
- toxicshok, on 02/17/2008, -1/+9Obama spam, the new RP spam
- SOS84, on 02/17/2008, -2/+10Have you bothered to take a look at the evangelical community? You know, the clinically insane who believe that everything in the bible is absolutely true yet support all kinds of anti-Christian causes because their church tells them to.
- Scynet, on 02/17/2008, -0/+7Ants trust each others. They move in swarms, with a common goal in mind, throwing themselves to death to save the swarm. It doesn't matter if they're easily led, because they don't screw each others over. The contrary is something like bears or tigers who're extremely independent and won't trust even family members very good.
We humans are somewhere in the middle, there are people willing to follow others, and people willing to exploit these blue-eyed folks. - goblindegook, on 02/17/2008, -0/+7No, taking a new route involves exploration and RISK. You also learn when you follow others, and it's the sort of behaviour that kept many of our species alive and safe for thousands of years: eating what others ate, sleeping where others slept, hunting where others hunted, etc.
- kbaz, on 02/17/2008, -1/+8At first I didn't know whether to digg you up or down---then I realized your question is actually a real question and makes me think. I have nothing else to say---dugg up
- capiCrimm, on 02/17/2008, -0/+7I'm not unique, but I do know how to lead buffalo off a cliff.
- Misinformant, on 02/17/2008, -4/+10Just like evangelical christians.
- tschau, on 02/17/2008, -0/+6nono, you're missing the point; littering, peeing, stabbing children - these things all are harmful towards others. Crossing on a "don't walk" is harmful to no one, the only issue there is making sure that everyone realizes that the law should always be respected.
Which in that scenario is a little stupid, but whatever. - frontporsche, on 02/17/2008, -0/+6
- nullcodes, on 02/17/2008, -1/+6Just because we're easily led doesn't mean we're like ants!
Does it?
Hmm. Ok, I guess you're right. - g30ph, on 02/18/2008, -0/+5Here's a test.
When you go to the movies, after the movie do you use the same exit everyone else uses, through the lobby and the long way around to the parking lot, or do you use the exits down by the sides of the screen which go directly to the parking lot? I'm usually the only one. The doors are clearly marked EXIT, I don't know why people just ignore them and go the long way. - wookee88, on 02/17/2008, -0/+4This explains why people use iPods, go to Starbucks, and watch American Idols.
- rolf, on 02/17/2008, -0/+4http://www.despair.com/connot.html
http://www.despair.com/tradition.html
http://www.despair.com/ignorance.html - mexicanmonkey, on 02/17/2008, -0/+4yeah, i do that all the time, but the problem is this. The sheeple who are waiting beside you tend to just go without even looking just because you're going. It's happened before where I've had to tell someone to watch out because they were too dumb to look for themselves.
- akohut, on 02/17/2008, -1/+5What's with the Josh Brolin/'No Country for Old Men" picture?
- JBmtk, on 02/17/2008, -0/+4Do we really need an article to tell us this?
- yojiffyskippy, on 02/17/2008, -0/+4There's always a few in the crowd that makes any candidate look bad.
- pilot3033, on 02/17/2008, -0/+4ants are very much like the borg
- nblsavage, on 02/17/2008, -0/+4or observe the average Paul supporter.
- TheAstronomer, on 02/17/2008, -0/+4http://digg.com/users/hdar3415
Most of the thumbnails from this guys stories don't match up. - ZenMojo, on 02/17/2008, -2/+651% voted for Bush.
- DogBotherer, on 02/17/2008, -0/+3This isn't new. I remember when we studied human behaviour in fires as part of my Psychology degree they used the example of Kings Cross Underground Station fire. During that fire people were killed because they took their normal routes through the station even when there were shorter escape routes available.
Also, some people were directed back into the fire because they were more used to taking instructions from the police (who didn't know the layout) rather than the underground staff (who were intimate with it). - joebaloney, on 02/17/2008, -1/+4Ironic "dittohead".
- manitoba98xp, on 02/17/2008, -0/+3To clarify: humans aren't dumb. But in many situations like the one described in this article, instinct takes precedent over conscious thought. And that instinct is simple, just like any other animal. That's not to say that we can't be conditioned to do something else, or consciously do something intelligent.
But I'm sure you already know all that. - barkus, on 02/17/2008, -0/+3I agree, the article mentions that the decision to take the long way could be fatal... But it could just as well prove fatal to take an unfamiliar route based on someone's directions due to the risk of getting lost.
- Intangible360, on 02/17/2008, -0/+3I don't think you're giving the ants a fair shake.
- JAG731, on 02/17/2008, -0/+3At the risk of following the leader. I agree.
- Brutis, on 02/17/2008, -1/+4Country for old men screen cap, hmmm
- ScionX, on 02/17/2008, -0/+3"ride a motorcycle without a helmet"
That's legal here, not that it matters. - eviscero, on 02/17/2008, -0/+2It would be..simpleton.
What's going to happen when Bush finished his term...who you gonna blame for everything then?
Probably Bush again. lol, you lot are severely pathetic. - 1310nm, on 02/17/2008, -0/+2It's an overly-generic statement; there are many more factors in that decision than whether or not a place is familiar.
- rattleme, on 02/17/2008, -0/+2Total exploration of the building really only benefits the group if they intend to spend a lot of time there. It can be perceived as a waste of energy otherwise. Most of the individuals there probably don't view themselves as part of that group anyway, so taking risks for others is not their main concern.
- hmunkey, on 02/17/2008, -3/+5Buried and reported. Screw off.
- g30ph, on 02/18/2008, -0/+2He clearly intends to commit a terrorist act in Boston. We must waterboard him while tazering him to extract the information and save millions of american lives!
- bjornski, on 02/18/2008, -0/+2Too bad we haven't figured out that "no spill blood" thing yet.
- Intangible360, on 02/17/2008, -0/+2If you were an intelligent sociologist you would realize that all you could ever be sure about is your inability to reliably predict how anyone would react.
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