Science vs. Zombies

[Bella Fortuna]

From Scientific Computing:

Best Approach for Avoiding Zombies: If trapped by the staggering undead, physics could help

A new research publication suggests the best way to avoid "random walkers."

When Woody Harrelson escapes the living dead in the new movie Zombieland, should he head for the hills or the mall? A recently published research paper suggests that he's probably better off hiding in the mall to save his delicious brain.

The world is full of things that move in zombie-like fashion, such as particles flowing through a turbulent fluid or the unpredictable price changes of the stock market, so physicists seek insight into this behavior by creating so called "random walking" models. Physicist Davide Cassi at the Università di Parma in Italy looked at how long an entity hiding in a complex structure could survive if being pursued by predatory random walkers. Cassi's paper, recently published in the journal Physical Review E, is the first to describe a general principle of a prey’s likelihood to survive over time while hiding in an irregular structure.

Although the paper itself does not specifically refer to fleeing from zombies, it describes "the survival probability of immobile targets annihilated by random walkers." The conclusions suggest that the people trapped in a mall in Dawn of the Dead may be better off than the folks stuck in a farmhouse in Night of the Living Dead.

Cassi found that the likelihood of survival when threatened by predatory random walkers is closely related to how complex the prey’s hideout is. The more twists and turns, the safer you'll be. In structures that are highly complex and irregular, the chances of the predator coming into contact with its target shrinks down to almost zero.

Cassi formulates a model to describe the behavior of randomly moving particles as they travel through maze-like networks. He said that his work could apply to a wide variety of situations including the distribution of information through the internet and medicine spreading through the human body.

"There are a lot of applications of these results in a lot of fields of sciences," Cassi said. "The most amazing field of applications of these results are in biology, biochemistry and other organisms."

So remember, when the zombies come, flee to the biggest shopping mall you can find and remember that, using zombie movies as a guide, the undead often win.

[Trolldor]

Depends on the zombies.

[Rum]

I was in Waterstone's (bookshop for Mericans) and saw this..


Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Honest. Here's some text from http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/ap ... -prejudice

The public's unanticipated desire for the unusual conflation of Regency romance and the undead this morning sent Seth Grahame-Smith's zombie mash-up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies soaring to the top of Amazon's UK "movers and shakers" chart, which monitors the books which are experiencing sudden demand from consumers.

Already sitting at number three in the New York Times bestseller lists, the novel – which sees Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters battling a zombie menace that has descended upon the quiet English village of Meryton – looks likely to make a similar killing in the British market. A UK sales representative for its American publisher Quirk Books said today that it was struggling to keep up with demand and is already going into a second printing, despite the book not being published until 13 April. This morning it moved into top position in the Amazon movers and shakers chart, having previously languished below 300, and climbed to 27th position in the online bookseller's overall bestseller listings.

"The idea of taking two completely separate, incongruous elements – Regency romance and zombies – you think it couldn't possibly work, but it's so intriguing and has really captured people's imaginations," said Bethan Jones, UK spokesperson for the book. "It's definitely exceeded our expectations – I don't think the publisher quite realised how popular it would be ... It's on sale next week and we've sold over 4,000 copies already, before it's even in the shops."

The novel features Jane Austen's text interspersed with "all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem" from Grahame-Smith. So, for example, when Elizabeth is slighted by Mr Darcy at the ball – "she is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me" – the "warrior code" demands she "must avenge her honour ... She meant to follow this proud Mr Darcy outside and open his throat." She's thwarted, however, when a crowd of "unmentionables" pour into the ballroom, and she and her sisters are forced to draw their daggers. "Mr Darcy watched Elizabeth and her sisters work their way outward, beheading zombie after zombie. He knew of only one other woman in all of Great Britain who wielded a dagger with such skill, such grace and deadly accuracy."

"Online interest has been huge and from all sectors," said Jones. "Seth Grahame-Smith is also a screenwriter and the film rights are being hotly negotiated at the moment too." The film adaptation will face stiff competition from Elton John's Rocket Pictures, which is currently developing another monstrous take on the novel in Pride and Predator.

Jones added that Quirk Books is planning to capitalise on the popularity of the genre with a new "monster mash-up" in the autumn, the title of which is yet to be announced. "They always hoped to continue the series – they were waiting to see how it was received," she said.

Grahame-Smith said he expected other publishers would also be looking for similarly weird concoctions. "It's inevitable that other companies are going to see that this book has been received with so much enthusiasm. I'm sure that as we speak someone is poring through Wuthering Heights looking for opportunities to add whatever mayhem they can to it," he told the BBC yesterday. But he wasn't sure he was the man to continue what he called "a mini-trend of literary mash-ups". "I don't know that I want to follow this book up with Sense and Sensibility and vampires, because I could easily box myself in as being the mash-up guy," he said.

[Pappa]

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Honest.

We haz a hole thred on it.

http://rationalia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1440

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Only one way to fight zombies:

Trigger Warning!!!1! :

[Bella Fortuna]

Wow, I've started two zombie threads... it's becoming a trend.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Wow, I've started two zombie threads... it's becoming a trend.

It's dying out, though.

People are dying to post in zombie thread.

I'm dead tired, so I won't post to them.

Dead aim on the forum mindset, Bella.

Etc.

[Bella Fortuna]

Wow, I've started two zombie threads... it's becoming a trend.

It's dying out, though.

People are dying to post in zombie thread.

I'm dead tired, so I won't post to them.

Dead aim on the forum mindset, Bella.

Etc.

I see your brain has already been consumed.

[Rum]

So sorry ..did not...see...thread..in ......ti...

[Pappa]

Where's Mish when you need him....

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Where's Mish when you need him....

He's holding out in a Banana Republic store. We need to go get him.

[RPizzle]

BRAAAAAAAINS!

[Gawdzilla Sama]

BRAAAAAAAINS!

... and eggs.

[Drewish]

zombies love bacon

[Bella Fortuna]

zombies love bacon

I guess that tells us how they voted in the poll...