2 ms·

This is a classic tragedy-of-the-commons problem. From one individual's perspective, you think to yourself that grabbing your bag only takes 1 additional second

by whack 10y ago

This is a classic tragedy-of-the-commons problem. From one individual's perspective, you think to yourself that grabbing your bag only takes 1 additional second, and it's pretty unlikely that you'll get hurt just because of that additional second. Compared to the upside of not losing your precious belongings, that seems like an understandable cost-benefit analysis. The problem is, you aren't just delaying yourself by 1 second, you're also delaying the other 100 people behind you by 1 second. And if you multiply the risks involved by 100, the outcome of the cost-benefit analysis changes dramatically. We could yell at people for being too dumb to do the "right thing", but let's be honest, this isn't the kind of issue that will filter down to everyone in society. Unless it makes the front page of NYTimes or CNN, the vast majority of people will never get to hear your moral lectures and explanations. And airlines don't want to unduly alarm their passengers on the vast majority of flights which won't have problems, so they aren't going to spend too much effort on this either. The best solution here is some simple technology. Equip all the overhead bins with central locks, so that once a switch is flipped, it's impossible for a passenger to get them open. This way, people won't even have the chance to grab their luggage, and we wouldn't have to sit here having this discussion.

bolasanibk 10y ago
You will most probably have people spending more time trying to force the bins open.
takeda 10y ago
> The problem is, you aren't just delaying yourself by 1 second, you're also delaying the other 100 people behind you by 1 second. And if you multiply the risks involved by 100, the outcome of the cost-benefit analysis changes dramatically. In you analogy you are assuming that those people cannot perform that operation at the same time. Opening overhead compartments will take longer time, also having baggage in front/behind you takes space for other people. IMO I don't understand though concern about grabbing handbags or items that are not in overhead compartments. Since it is quick and those are generally small items.
Falkon1313 10y ago
>The problem is, you aren't just delaying yourself by 1 second, you're also delaying the other 100 people behind you by 1 second. Except for most people, it doesn't take an additional second. Past experience in crowded areas with narrow aisles and few exits tells you that you're going to be standing around waiting awhile for a chance to move. What else are you supposed to do, flail your arms, scream, and panic? Trample the people ahead of you? Fling your bag randomly, hitting someone else and causing a trip hazard? All our lives we are taught that in an emergency you should remain calm and collected and exit in good order. Of course you shouldn't waste time going back for unimportant things or things that are hard to get to, but if your bag is right there and you can pick it up in the same motion as standing up, that seems perfectly reasonable, rational, and logical. Or if you're standing around waiting for your chance to exit, it makes sense to pick it up. The article uses hyperbole like "Materialism has been winning out over self-preservation", "when it's your money or your life, money wins", and "leave your bags behind. Yes, all of them. Laptops and purses, too." But urging people to panic and act counter to everything they've ever been taught and everything that they've experienced in life, especially in the middle of a stressful emergency, doesn't really make sense. As others have said, fining people for behaving the way that they are supposed to behave does not make sense. Intercepting people and delaying the evacuation to remove their things does not make sense. What would make sense would be to improve egress routes if that is a problem. More exits and wider aisles would be a lot easier than trying to force everyone to act irrationally and counter-intuitively during an emergency.

by whack 10y ago

bolasanibk 10y ago

You will most probably have people spending more time trying to force the bins open.

takeda 10y ago

> The problem is, you aren't just delaying yourself by 1 second, you're also delaying the other 100 people behind you by 1 second. And if you multiply the risks involved by 100, the outcome of the cost-benefit analysis changes dramatically. In you analogy you are assuming that those people cannot perform that operation at the same time. Opening overhead compartments will take longer time, also having baggage in front/behind you takes space for other people. IMO I don't understand though concern about grabbing handbags or items that are not in overhead compartments. Since it is quick and those are generally small items.

Falkon1313 10y ago

>The problem is, you aren't just delaying yourself by 1 second, you're also delaying the other 100 people behind you by 1 second. Except for most people, it doesn't take an additional second. Past experience in crowded areas with narrow aisles and few exits tells you that you're going to be standing around waiting awhile for a chance to move. What else are you supposed to do, flail your arms, scream, and panic? Trample the people ahead of you? Fling your bag randomly, hitting someone else and causing a trip hazard? All our lives we are taught that in an emergency you should remain calm and collected and exit in good order. Of course you shouldn't waste time going back for unimportant things or things that are hard to get to, but if your bag is right there and you can pick it up in the same motion as standing up, that seems perfectly reasonable, rational, and logical. Or if you're standing around waiting for your chance to exit, it makes sense to pick it up. The article uses hyperbole like "Materialism has been winning out over self-preservation", "when it's your money or your life, money wins", and "leave your bags behind. Yes, all of them. Laptops and purses, too." But urging people to panic and act counter to everything they've ever been taught and everything that they've experienced in life, especially in the middle of a stressful emergency, doesn't really make sense. As others have said, fining people for behaving the way that they are supposed to behave does not make sense. Intercepting people and delaying the evacuation to remove their things does not make sense. What would make sense would be to improve egress routes if that is a problem. More exits and wider aisles would be a lot easier than trying to force everyone to act irrationally and counter-intuitively during an emergency.