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posted by martyb on Friday September 27 2019, @01:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the assume-a-spherical-car dept.

The next time you're hunting for a parking spot, mathematics could help you identify the most efficient strategy, according to a recent paper in the Journal of Statistical Mechanics. It's basically an optimization problem: weighing different variables and crunching the numbers to find the optimal combination of those factors. In the case of where to put your car, the goal is to strike the optimal balance of parking close to the target—a building entrance, for example—without having to waste too much time circling the lot hunting for the closest space.

Paul Krapivsky of Boston University and Sidney Redner of the Santa Fe Institute decided to build their analysis around an idealized parking lot with a single row (a semi-infinite line), and they focused on three basic parking strategies. A driver who employs a "meek" strategy will take the first available spot, preferring to park as quickly as possible even if there might be open spots closer to the entrance. A driver employing an "optimistic" strategy will go right to the entrance and then backtrack to find the closest possible spot.

Finally, drivers implementing a "prudent" strategy will split the difference. They might not grab the first available spot, figuring there will be at least one more open spot a bit closer to the entrance. If there isn't, they will backtrack to the space a meek driver would have claimed immediately.

[...] Based on their model, the scientists concluded that the meek strategy is the least effective of the three, calling it "risibly inefficient" because "many good parking spots are unfilled and most cars are parked far from the target."

[...] "On average, the prudent strategy is less costly," the authors concluded. "Thus, even though the prudent strategy does not allow the driver to take advantage of the presence of many prime parking spots close to the target, the backtracking that must always occur in the optimistic strategy outweighs the benefit." Plenty of people might indeed decide that walking a bit farther is an acceptable tradeoff to avoid endlessly circling a crowded lot hunting for an elusive closer space. Or maybe they just want to rack up a few extra steps on their FitBit.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/09/to-find-the-best-parking-spot-do-the-math/


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  • (Score: 3, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday September 27 2019, @04:06PM (6 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Friday September 27 2019, @04:06PM (#899614) Homepage Journal

    No, the tough, strong men are the ones in pickups with tool beds and a company name or logo on the side. SUVs are the modern incarnation of the station wagon; they're for soccer moms.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
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  • (Score: 2) by ikanreed on Friday September 27 2019, @04:40PM (5 children)

    by ikanreed (3164) Subscriber Badge on Friday September 27 2019, @04:40PM (#899629) Journal

    Congrats on the BrandTM

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday September 27 2019, @05:02PM (4 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Friday September 27 2019, @05:02PM (#899639) Homepage Journal

      Ain't about brand, it's about utility and observation. Guys who need a truck and a shitload of tools and spend enough time using them both to warrant the cost overwhelmingly trend towards not being fake little pussy wannabes.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Saturday September 28 2019, @01:41PM (3 children)

        by Rupert Pupnick (7277) on Saturday September 28 2019, @01:41PM (#899897) Journal

        Contrasted with guys with F350s with glistening chrome, a spotless cargo bed, and no toolbox mounted up near the cab?

        • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday September 28 2019, @07:19PM (2 children)

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Saturday September 28 2019, @07:19PM (#900018) Homepage Journal

          Exactly. Personal trucks should have no back seat, an eight foot bed that you can carry a full sheet of plywood in, and scratches/dents. Work trucks may not need a tool bed but should at least have a coffin box up by the cab for tools. Scratches and dents are optional on work trucks, depending on the boss.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Saturday September 28 2019, @10:35PM (1 child)

            by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Saturday September 28 2019, @10:35PM (#900074)

            Many years ago working an awful job at a hotel front desk I got screamed at by some guy about someone parked "illegally" by his shiny beloved truck. We shared a parking lot with a night club and parking on Friday and Saturday nights would be crowded, essentially any parking regulations were suspended from 11 pm to 3 am those nights. I went out to see the problem. Was he blocked in? No. Was he planning to go anywhere that night? No. The entire reason for his rage was that someone walking through might be diverted by the "illegally" parked vehicle to pass too close to his vehicle and the front corner of his left front fender might be scratched by someone's belt buckle if they turned to the left to squeeze by (they would have to have a pretty large girth and big belt buckle, that's for sure). Seriously, that is exactly what he complained about. I'm afraid I did not make him very happy, but he is lucky I didn't go to the tool shed, grab a sledge hammer, and hammer his front fender to a shape that would allow plenty of room to get by...