Question authority!

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: radev () umich edu
Date: June 9, 2005 6:20:47 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: Question authority!
Reply-To: radev () umich edu


Might be interesting for IP. Rather controversial too.

Drago


> http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.06/start.html?pg=3
>
> Question Authorities
> Why it's smart to disobey officials in emergencies
>
> For nearly four years - steadily, seriously, and with the
> unsentimental rigor for which we love them - civil engineers have been
> studying the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, sifting the
> tragedy for its lessons. And it turns out that one of the lessons is:
> Disobey authority. In a connected world, ordinary people often have
> access to better information than officials do.
>
> Proof can be found in the 298-page draft report issued in April by the
> National Institute on Standards and Technology called Occupant
> Behavior, Egress, and Emergency Communications. (In layman's terms,
> that's who got out of the buildings, how they got out, and why.) It's
> an eloquent document, in many ways. The report confirms a chilling
> fact that was widely covered in the aftermath of the September 11
> attacks. After both buildings were burning, many calls to 911 resulted
> in advice to stay put and wait for rescue. Also, occupants of the
> towers had been trained to use the stairs, not the elevators, in case
> of evacuation.
>
> Fortunately, this advice was mostly ignored. According to the
> engineers, use of elevators in the early phase of the evacuation,
> along with the decision to not stay put, saved roughly 2,500 lives.
>
> ...


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