There was purpose to turning left at contests!
Cliff Hilty
Too funny we had it right (or left) afterall! We Are Not Ambiturners |
Humans consistently show a preference toward moving counterclockwise, a study published yesterday reveals. The phenomenon is not yet understood but holds true across variations in environment, age, gender, culture, and handedness. The inclination was first observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when researchers in Spain considered how to maintain social distancing in crowds. In 32 out of 33 experiments, pedestrians ended up veering left and moving counterclockwise. Since most animals walk without directional preference (exceptions include temnothorax ants), researchers were puzzled. They conducted further experiments in Spain and Japan, corroborating the findings, including with teenagers, toddlers, and adults in various settings and crowd sizes. That preference was especially pronounced in a nursery school, suggesting the phenomenon may have biological roots. Researchers hope to conduct further studies in virtual reality spaces. The findings could help inform how airports, malls, and other public spaces are designed. (How do crowd engineers do it? See considerations, via YouTube.) |
