The Atlantic posted an interesting article yesterday, written by Lindsay Abrams, entitled “Mosh Pits Teach Us About the Physics of Collective Behavior,” which obviously made me do a double take.
The article compares moshers to gas particles, stating that “the statistical description we use for gasses matches the behavior of people in mosh pits.” There is also a link leading to an interactive mosh pit where you can change things like speed, flock strength, and particle count. It even goes on to speak about a crowd favorite, the “wall of death.” SCIENCE.
Maybe if my physics class had more discussions about being in the pit I would have gotten a better grade than a B-. I also probably could have remembered to bring my calculator for the tests. Anyway, check out the article here!
