95% of People are Sheep

rigormortis · 22-02-2008 10:30am #1

This is an interesting article.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/02/14/scisheep114.xml

According to our learned friend, 95% of people are sheep. Now the 95% do not realize this, indeed they think they are following their own paths. Hence we have a nation of followers who do not see themselves as such.

Interesting, confirms what I have long believed.

Sherifu · 22-02-2008 10:32am

The team, led by Prof Jens Krause, conducted a series of experiments in which volunteers were told to walk randomly around a large hall without talking to each other. A select few were then given more detailed instructions.

The results published today show that it takes a minority of just 5 per cent of what they called "informed individuals" to influence the direction of a crowd of a minimum of 200 people. The remaining herd of 95 per cent follow without realising it.

Best experiment ever. QED.

Archeron · 22-02-2008 10:36am

Baaaah. (humbug)

Xavi6 · 22-02-2008 10:38am

Jays don't tell the emos

seamus · 22-02-2008 10:38am

That discovery could have lethal implications when it comes to evacuating a building or ship in an emergency, when people would likely stick to the familiar evacuation route, even if slower than an alternative.

Not an altogether ridiculous proposition. While the "new" route may be technically quicker, it's also unfamiliar, which is likely to make it slower than the familiar route. This may even be an evolutionary response to prefer comfortable routes over faster ones.

As an example, take a blind person and send them down a quicker but less familiar route, and time them versus the familiar route. The quicker route will come out slower.

Not a surprising finding either though. I know plenty of older people who'd rather drive an old, winding route through small streets and backroads instead of taking the more direct new road.

Popinjay · 22-02-2008 10:39am

Everybody knows you're only different if you're emo anyway. Everyone else is just following the herd but each and every single emo is an individual and a kerrazzy free-thinker.

We just don't get them.

Earthhorse · 22-02-2008 10:40am

More like 95% of people are stalkers and 5% are hot chicks.

babyguinnessfan · 22-02-2008 10:40am

Agree with this 100%. Ever watch a group of people at a pedestrian crossing, waiting to cross a busy road? You can be certain that as soon as one person puts a foot out to cross the road almost everyone will just blindly lurch forward too, without even a glance to see if the road is clear. There could be traffic zooming towards them but they just follow what someone else did.

Or, did you ever just look up at a building/ towards the sky randomly when e.g. in town. You can bet that loads of people will look up too!

rigormortis · 22-02-2008 10:42am

seamus wrote: »

I know plenty of older people who'd rather drive an old, winding route through small streets and backroads instead of taking the more direct new road.

Is the new road tolled?

tbh · 22-02-2008 10:45am

rigormortis wrote: »

This is an interesting article.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/02/14/scisheep114.xml

According to our learned friend, 95% of people are sheep. Now the 95% do not realize this, indeed they think they are following their own paths. Hence we have a nation of followers who do not see themselves as such.

Interesting, confirms what I have long believed.

I knew ewe were going to post that.

seamus · 22-02-2008 10:47am

rigormortis wrote: »

Is the new road tolled?

What road? I was talking in general terms...

rigormortis · 22-02-2008 10:49am

tbh wrote: »

I knew ewe were going to post that.

An exhibition of humour, a rare commodity these days.

rigormortis · 22-02-2008 10:51am

seamus wrote: »

What road? I was talking in general terms...

I know.

I was making the observation that the majority of new roads are tolled these days.

AckwelFoley · 22-02-2008 10:51am

I agree that ppl are sheepazoids.

Ive seen this in practice at company meetings.. where staff wont speak up for themselves..

Crumble Froo · 22-02-2008 10:59am

babyguinnessfan wrote: »

Agree with this 100%. Ever watch a group of people at a pedestrian crossing, waiting to cross a busy road? You can be certain that as soon as one person puts a foot out to cross the road almost everyone will just blindly lurch forward too, without even a glance to see if the road is clear. There could be traffic zooming towards them but they just follow what someone else did.

i have a philosophy about road crossing... " it's illegal to run us all over". you run one person over, it's an accident, you run all us ****ers leggin it across the road over, and it's just plain murder.

also, as far as 95% of people being sheep goes... there's a huge difference between people following people in random things like traffic and wandering around a room, and making life decisions. though probably is a link,a nd i personally, would always opt for the route im more familiar with. i dislike change.

kmick · 22-02-2008 11:07am

Put me in a room and tell me to walk around following the crowd I'll do it fine. Put a fire in the same room that threatens me and I'll be kicking and punching my way out. This study is an insult to humanity. That article is also so low on detail I dont believe its conclusions. Its like a bloody Sun article.

rigormortis · 22-02-2008 11:09am

kmick wrote: »

That article is also so low on detail I dont believe its conclusions. Its like a bloody Sun article.

It is just an average standard for a scientific article nowadays. Look at global warming and carbon output. No evidence and yet with enough propaganda everyone has accepted that.

Consensus Reailty, anyone?

abelard · 22-02-2008 11:16am

I concur. Completely.

Now what should I think?

Black Swan · 22-02-2008 11:23am

rigormortis wrote: »

According to our learned friend, 95% of people are sheep.

Look out sheep! There are a few lads about...:eek:

BurnsCarpenter · 22-02-2008 11:24am

babyguinnessfan wrote: »

Or, did you ever just look up at a building/ towards the sky randomly when e.g. in town. You can bet that loads of people will look up too!

Surely that doesn't make you a sheep - there might be something interesting going on up there.

Remember reading about some interesting experiments in this area back in college.

MoominPapa · 22-02-2008 11:36am

Why do most people follow the herd then?

Dragan · 22-02-2008 11:40am

The experiment is retarded.

You cannot apply a specific instruction in those circumstances. You need to just let people wander, see who takes up a leadership role and who follows automatically.

Prior instruction to any of the subjects is just fixing the numbers.

Agamemnon · 22-02-2008 11:49am

I agree with 95% of posters in this thread.

Earthhorse · 22-02-2008 11:55am

agamemnon wrote: »

I agree with 95% of posters in this thread.

+/-5%

Lirange · 22-02-2008 12:05pm

The other 5% are randy farmhands.

You're either taking it or administering it.

kevmy · 22-02-2008 12:10pm

While this is a little short on details it's true to a certain extent. I wouldn't go as far as saying life decisions etc. are based on follow the leader but some things yeah.

But surely it common sense as well. Follow the lad who knows where he going. Ever go to a football match - everyone finds the stadium even if a lot of people haven't been there - they just follow the people who do know how to get there

NotMe · 22-02-2008 12:19pm

Being a sheep is a baaaaaaad thing?

Extraplus · 22-02-2008 12:23pm

"You are all individuals"

"I'm not..."

jebuz · 22-02-2008 12:31pm

wool-d someone like to explain this further?

Cianos · 22-02-2008 12:38pm

There's a fundamental flaw in presenting results like this. If you take that 5% and consider their direct influence, if they act as a single unit, the people around them if observant will notice that this 'block' of people seems to be acting in a single unit, and probably for a reason. Even if each person within the original 5% has a 1:1 influence, that's another 5%, growing the 'block' to 10% of the population. The 10% could then grow to 20%, which grows to 40%, 40% to 95% or whatever.

If the 'block' of people continues to act in an obviously harmonised way, the individuals outside the block would be silly to not join the group. Each individuals decision would have less % of being correct over a large group acting as one. The likelihood of the decision the block of people is making being incorrect reduces, the more people that join in and do the same.

If for example a crowd of people were escaping from a building that was about to explode and the crowd of people were faced with 3 different routes, if 80% of people seemed to be taking route A, unless you knew for a fact that one of the other ways was better, it'd be silly going route B or C just because you thought it might be quicker.

BKtje · 22-02-2008 12:51pm

Did this 5% start doing their thing from the start or were people randomly walking about. If there is a certain number of people walking one direction then its usually easier to follow them around then randomly bump into people/ have to avoid them.

I do agree that a lot of people do follow other peoples lead, this "experiement" doesnt proove much imo.

Pherekydes · 22-02-2008 1:41pm

95% of people have tattoos: FACT.

Reku · 22-02-2008 2:07pm

95% of people are sheep as they will be sheepish enough to follow the research claiming this and believe it.:rolleyes:

seamus · 22-02-2008 2:19pm

I would say it's fairer to look at this research in terms of trends rather than actual facts.

It doesn't mean that 95% of people are *always* followers and 95% are *always* leaders.

It means that in general, you will find in any one group, that 5% of the group make the decisions and the other 95% choose their path based on those possible paths presented by the 5%.

In one situation, a person may very well be a follower but presented with another situation they will be a leader. This can be very much observed in business - when one person is comfortable and knowledgeable in the work group, they will make suggestions and counter other people's. When lifted out and placed in another completely unfamiliar group, they will likely just go with the consensus.

MooseJam · 22-02-2008 2:35pm

well I'm one of the 5%

Archeron · 22-02-2008 2:56pm

95% of sheep also think they're people. FACT!

Earthhorse · 22-02-2008 3:09pm

seamus wrote: »

It doesn't mean that 95% of people are *always* followers and 95% are *always* leaders.

Well, no, because then there'd be a population of 190% which would mean we'd be dealing with clones.

Cuddlesworth · 22-02-2008 3:23pm

kmick wrote: »

Put me in a room and tell me to walk around following the crowd I'll do it fine. Put a fire in the same room that threatens me and I'll be kicking and punching my way out. This study is an insult to humanity. That article is also so low on detail I dont believe its conclusions. Its like a bloody Sun article.

I thought the experiment was to see if people would automaticly follow, when they have no sense of direction.

For example, they told everybody to walk around the room randomly. So, no sense of direction, just do whatever. They found that if 5% were told to do something specific, the rest would follow.

If you told 95% of the room to do something specific and told the other 5% to go against the grain I don't think there would be any following.

This whole experiance and test would only apply in very specific situations, like the example given above. In a fire, if 95% did not know what to do and 5% started off in the wrong direction the rest would automaticly follow. Alternitively if the 5% knew the right route, they would lead the rest to safety.

I would have called the whole thing common sense, but whatever.

Creature · 22-02-2008 3:29pm

If I don't like lamb does that mean I can't become a cannibal?

Wertz · 22-02-2008 3:32pm

Is this really so surprising? People for the most part don't like to stand out from the crowd, in general terms....we all want to "fit in" to some extent, be it in what we do, where we go on a night out, what we wear, etc....obviously we all crave "individulaity" but not to the point where someone (or worse, a collection of someones) might point us out as being "different".
I like to think of myself as someone independent of thought and in my actions, but if I'm perfectly honest there are things I'll do to "fit in" without even realising it....I suspect the majority of people are the same or similar...

ClassicDisaster · 22-02-2008 3:42pm

rigormortis wrote: »

It is just an average standard for a scientific article nowadays. Look at global warming and carbon output. No evidence and yet with enough propaganda everyone has accepted that.

Consensus Reailty, anyone?

Are you saying you dont believe in global warming?

Ok, on the sheep topic, yes i agree. the majority did act as sheep BUT 5% were given specific instruction to act as leaders. if no information was given would the results have been the same?

Ross_Mahon · 22-02-2008 3:44pm

I have realised certain things like this, for instance in a group of friends there is like a 'pack leader' and they follow him/her.

When your walking along a narrow path with a person walking towards you, what determines who steps out of the way for the other??

Walk through town, and you will see that people walk in patterns, like as if theres a certain route you must walk?

Take out your phone in a public area, and you will see other people checking their phones.

People seem to respond the same on msn, i can basically guess what someone will respond.
'whats up?'
'Nothing much'

mike65 · 22-02-2008 3:48pm

Nearly 95% of peeps who read this thread choose not to post in it.

Mike.

Wertz · 22-02-2008 3:48pm

ClassicDisaster wrote: »

Are you saying you dont believe in global warming?

I think their point was more on the link between carbon output and global warming/climate change, which in some people's minds is still a bit tenuous...the point being that even though n o link has been irrevocably proven that the masses are willing to take the word of those who say it's gospel and change their habits and lifestyle or pay more for goods because of a suggested link.

FunkZ · 22-02-2008 3:58pm

seamus wrote: »

What road? I was talking in general terms...

Haha! And...

I am not a sheep, I am a free man! :rolleyes:

Gyalist · 22-02-2008 4:00pm

The Five-Percent Nation came to a similar conclusion more than 40 years ago. Although their claim was that 85% of people were sheep.

Ross_Mahon · 22-02-2008 4:08pm

The remaining 5% of people choose to post on boards.ie

Jay P · 22-02-2008 4:08pm

Hmmm, I kinda a gree with this, but only if Im part of that 5%

But seriously, I'm not so sure it would be as high as 95%, maybe 70-80%, but that would just be looking at people at school.

djpbarry · 22-02-2008 4:12pm

Statistics can be used to prove anything - 95% of all people know that.

rigormortis wrote: »

Look at global warming and carbon output. No evidence and yet with enough propaganda everyone has accepted that.

:rolleyes:

nice1franko · 22-02-2008 4:43pm

I like sheep.

Overheal · 22-02-2008 6:04pm

babyguinnessfan wrote: »

Agree with this 100%. Ever watch a group of people at a pedestrian crossing, waiting to cross a busy road? You can be certain that as soon as one person puts a foot out to cross the road almost everyone will just blindly lurch forward too, without even a glance to see if the road is clear. There could be traffic zooming towards them but they just follow what someone else did.

Or, did you ever just look up at a building/ towards the sky randomly when e.g. in town. You can bet that loads of people will look up too!

Thats how I know I'm not a sheep. Anytime I cross the road with a group of people, I get to the other side and I turn around and everyone else is still on the other side looking at me like I just braved death or something.

95% of People are Sheep

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