Scientists uncover Feynman’s formula for finding best holiday restaurant
Summary
Scientists studied notes by physicist Richard Feynman and found he created a math formula to decide when to stop searching and pick the best restaurant. They tested this formula in experiments and found that people use a similar but simpler method when choosing where to eat during a trip.Key Facts
- Richard Feynman made a math problem about deciding when to stop looking for a restaurant and choose one.
- The problem is called a "stopping problem," where you must decide the best time to stop one action and start another.
- Feynman’s formula suggests trying new restaurants until one meets a quality threshold that gets lower as fewer days remain.
- The threshold changes depending on how many good restaurants are in the city; if few gems exist, people should search longer.
- Researchers tested Feynman’s idea with over 2,500 people in an online task selecting restaurants on a grid.
- Participants’ choices showed they used a simpler rule where the quality threshold decreased steadily with the days left, not as fast as Feynman predicted.
- The study helps explain human decision-making when exploring options with limited time.
- The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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