The Elevator Paradox

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Does it occur to you, when waiting for an elevator, that elevators always seem to be going the wrong way? It occurred to two physicists, too. And, with a little work, they proved that this wasn't just Murphy's Law, it was reality.
George Gamow was a physicist who worked had a celebrated, and action-packed career which included working on radiation research and defecting from the USSR. Busy guy. At one point he found himself in an office on the second floor of a six story building. He was friendly with Marvin Stern, another physicist. Stern had himself an office on the fifth floor of the same building. The two must have been visiting quite a bit, because after a while, they both noticed a strange phenomenon.
Gamow, whenever he used an elevator to go up to Stern's office, found that all the elevators seemed to be going down. Stern, on his way down to Gamow's office, found that elevators were always going up. Two people, in the same building, noticed that the elevators were always moving in opposite directions. Gamow and Stern decided that the only way this could happen is if the elevators were manufactured in the middle of the building, and were constantly be sent up to the roof or down to the basement to be disassembled, then rebuilt in the middle again. After some discussion, probably with the building's maintenance crew, they found that this was not the case. Then they pulled out some writing instruments and got to doing equations.
The math that it took to explain this seemingly impossible set-up is complicated, but the gist is simple. Elevators spend more time traveling one way or another depending on what stage of their journey you happen to be on. If you are just under the top floor, elevators will generally speed by you on their way up, drop off the Top Floor Elite quickly, and then come back down. Unless the elevators get stuck on the top floor, they'll spend more time below you than above you, so you'll only catch an elevator going down if you happen to press the call button in that brief time between when the elevator drops off its passengers on the top floor and when it moves back down. Similarly, if you're one floor above the Morlocks, and you just sit outside the elevator doors (not a good idea with Morlocks around), you'll spend a long time watching the elevator descend, and a relatively short time watching it bounce back up from the basement.
In reality, it takes a lot more finessing to prove that elevators are more likely to pass a given floor on the way up than the way down (or on the way down than the way up). You have to factor in how many people use each floor, and how regularly they do so. Still, it's generally true that, if you and a friend are on different ends of a building, you will notice that the elevators are "always" traveling in a certain direction - and that direction will be opposite of the direction the direction your friend "always" sees them moving
Via The Math Behind the Numbers.

Who doesn't love a good paradox?

 

[chaseter]

That was the most stupid thing I have ever read and the fact that people spent money and brain power caring about that is sad. Then, you feel the need to post said stupid story.

Quit making dumb threads.

 

[The End]

I like the threads he posts.

 

[Hellion]

I like the threads he posts.

I concur.

 

[Teelie]

The story is interesting because in a crazy way it does show Murphy's Law at work in reality.

 

[Piper Maru]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Why aint they spendin' teh money fixin' the ecanamy?![/FONT]

 

[DirtyHarry]

That was the most stupid thing I have ever read and the fact that people spent money and brain power caring about that is sad. Then, you feel the need to post said stupid story.

Quit making dumb threads.

Stop taking things too seriously and learn how to have fun. My God some people.

 

[chaseter]

How 'bout no.

 

[Boy Scout]

That was the most stupid thing I have ever read and the fact that people spent money and brain power caring about that is sad. Then, you feel the need to post said stupid story.

Quit making dumb threads.

Someone's getting coal in their stocking.

 

[DirtyHarry]

How 'bout no.

Haha you're so cool.

 

[Xeno]

The next study they do should examine the strange phenomenon of people on Internet forums who open threads they aren't interested in, read the posts knowing they won't like the contents and then feel compelled to complain about it. The psychology behind such bizarre, self-defeating behavior must be fascinating.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

That was the most stupid thing I have ever read and the fact that people spent money and brain power caring about that is sad. Then, you feel the need to post said stupid story.

Quit making dumb threads.

Geez Mr. Cranky pants, did you wake up on the wrong side of the message boards today?

 

[Piper Maru]

Geez Mr. Cranky pants, did you wake up on the wrong side of the message boards today?

There's an idea for the next study!

 

[Quasimod0]

Usually when I get into an elevator, it's going the way I want it to. Lol.mmybe I'm exempt from this strange happening.

 

[Octoberist]

That was the most stupid thing I have ever read and the fact that people spent money and brain power caring about that is sad. Then, you feel the need to post said stupid story.

Quit making dumb threads.

Then don't read it. That's an absolute.

 

[Snow Queen]

Then don't read it. That's an absolute.

Only Sith deal in a-ahhhhhhhhhhhh, too obvious.

 

[SentinelMind]

I think chaseter looked at title and saw potential, but was horribly disappointed with the content in the OP as I was. nothing wrong with demanding higher quality after tasting the trial product.

 

[jmc]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Why aint they spendin' teh money fixin' the ecanamy?![/FONT]

Cos they're physicists.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

I think chaseter looked at title and saw potential, but was horribly disappointed with the content in the OP as I was. nothing wrong with demanding higher quality after tasting the trial product.

Well I didn't write the dang article I just thought it was an interesting thing to read I didn't mean for it to be groundbreaking I just thought other people might enjoy it

 

[Thundercrack85]

The fact that objects drop at the same rate still blows my mind.

 

[Piper Maru]

Cos they're physicists.

Why isn't they fixin' world hunger?

 

[Sawyer]

That was the most stupid thing I have ever read and the fact that people spent money and brain power caring about that is sad. Then, you feel the need to post said stupid story.

Quit making dumb threads.

Now that I know you hate it, I just want to see him make more.

 

[DarkSovereignty]

But can they explain why toast always falls jelly side down?

 

[Thundercrack85]

But can they explain why toast always falls jelly side down?

Torque.

 

[Snow Queen]

But can they explain why toast always falls jelly side down?

Easy. We all know the devil is bad and no one likes toast to fall jelly side down, so the devil's energy just makes the toast fall jelly side down if it's in the same building. What some people don't know is that his dark energy also makes coffee cold and makes your internet go slowly.