Item — HN Reader

It's surprising that there have been few applications of random walks for random human walking:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_walk#Applications

Well... I made one... https://unli.xyz/walk/

    Doc: And in the future, we don't need horses. We have motorized carriages called automobiles.
    Jeb: If everybody's got one of these auto-whatsits, does anybody walk or run anymore?
    Doc: Of course we run. But for recreation. For fun.
    Jeb: Run for fun? What the hell kind of fun is that?

To be fair this isn't really a _random walk_ but it is a random walk

1 comments

> few applications of random walks for random human walking

I've heard a hypothesis that an advantage of dubious fortune-telling techniques (entrails, tea leaves, etc.) for hunter-gatherer societies is that random choice of prey and direction each day keeps them from over-exploiting any given resource to extinction.

A weird flex Indian Rajas were said to have done is to release a horse and then follow it, offering to fight anyone they met upon the resulting (not so random) walk. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashvamedha

I have read both ancient sword fighters and modern fencers advise to consciously plan an attack, but unconsciously trigger it: by letting noise from the environment decide the moment T=0, you're less likely to give your opponent any tells.

One might imagine that divination before battle would provide what the modern world calls a "mixed strategy" and could indeed by superior to pure strategies. (compare the SSBN; see also https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/is... )

On a more peaceful note, if you wish to choose between popular dinner spots, it may be best to make the selection at hazard: http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~michaelm/postscripts/handbook20...