Rachel Feltman introduces Manon Bischoff, a theoretical physicist and editor at Spektrum der Wissenschaft, to discuss the intriguing stories found in Scientific American’s newsletter, Proof Positive. One such story explores the mathematics behind why waiting for an elevator can feel interminable. This phenomenon, studied by physicists George Gamow and Marvin Stern in the 1950s, reveals that elevators often seem to go in the wrong direction due to mathematical reasons. When you press the button, the elevator is more likely to be going up because it must first come from below, especially if you’re near the top of a building. This results in a longer period when the elevator is ascending, making it more probable that you’ll encounter it going up rather than down.
QUESTION: How might understanding the mathematics behind everyday occurrences, like waiting for an elevator, change the way you perceive and interact with the world around you?
The reason why elevators feel slow—and the surprising math behind everyday life
