When a zombie outbreak happens, you shouldn’t rush to flat land, like the Atlanta residents did in ‘The Walking Dead. Instead, you should look for the Rockies in the US. This is according to Cornell University researchers. Matthew Bierbaum and Alex Alemi and Christopher Myers, James Sethna, were inspired by Max Brooks’ book, “World War Z”, which was later made into a film starring Brad Pitt. The group set out to find out how an actual zombie epidemic in America might unfold. You would be able to plan a counterattack if you didn’t rush for the hills immediately. At the 2015, American Physical Society March Meeting in San Antonio (Texas), the research team will be presenting their modeling of statistical mechanics for the “undead”. Alemi stated that modelling zombies was not much different from modeling real diseases, but that it is still fun. The research team will present their work at the 2015 American Physical Society March Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Alemi stated that the model is interesting as an individual model. He also said it was a cousin to traditional SIR models (susceptible infected and resistant), which were used for many other diseases. PHYS.ORG says: “All in all, the project was an overview in epidemiology modeling. It started with differential equations to model an entire connected population. Then, they moved on to lattice models and ended with a simulation of a massive outbreak in the United States. Cities will fall quickly. However, while the infected areas would be invaded. It would take many months for the northern areas of the US’ mountain-time zone to be infected. Alex Alemi, Matthew Bierbaum (top left), James Sethna and Christopher Myers (bottom left). Source: Cornell University. If you wish to have the greatest chance of survival and possibly organize a counterattack then head for the Rockies. There were 4 states that an individual could find themselves in during their simulation: Human Uninfected. 2. Infected. 3. Zombie. 4. Dead Zombie. There are many possible interaction possibilities, including a person being bitten by a zombie or a person killing a zombie. According to Mr. Alemi, “Given how the disease works, once zombies infiltrate more densely populated places, then the entire outbreak slows down. There are less humans to bite so the virus starts creating zombies faster.” New York City will be under attack within 24 hours according to the researchers, while upstate New Yorkers have approximately a month of preparation. According to the team, they plan to include more complex social variables in their modeling. This includes the ability to run for it as well as awareness about the zombie epidemic. The researcher found that two thirds of America was abandoned, and the majority fled to the Rockies where they regroup before launching a counterattack.
