Wait or Walk? Inquiring (and Lazy) Minds Want to Know
Most of us have been faced at one time or anther with the decision to wait for the next bus, or walk to our destination. All sorts of magical thinking can go into our calculations: How many others are waiting at the bus stop? How far (in both walking time and distance) to the destination? How long ago do we imagine the last bus came by?Well, some young geniuses at Cal Tech seem to have cracked the code. Here is their study, Walk versus Wait: The Lazy Mathematician Wins (3 pages), along with several download options and with all the math formulae that look like they were copied from Professor Barnhardt's blackboard... oh, and along with the young (and lazy) mathematician's "Eureka" moment.
Remember: exact change required, and bus schedule subject to change without notice.