The Disappearance of Braess’s Paradox
https://phys.org/news/2010-09-scientist-braess-paradox-high-traffic.html
At times it can be hard to link what we learn in Networks to how it could apply to a real life situation. However, Braess’s Paradox is an excellent illustration of how Networks, and the paths that we as people decide to go on can affect our everyday life. Now, although it is counterintuitive to think that adding a new route to a system of roads will increase travel time, a scientist has proven that under the right circumstances this paradox does not hold. Scientist Anna Nagurney has “derived a formula that shows that an increase in demand guarantees that the new route will not be used and will no longer increase travel times. In other words, the Braess’s paradox holds only for a specific range of demand.” When there is a high amount of traffic, people will stick to the routes that they are familiar with, which happens to eb the original routes. So in a sense, it is like the new route that had been added is non-existent, causing Braess’s paradox to “disappear.”
This connects to what we have learned in class because it is not only about Braess’s paradox but also relates to what we learned about dominant strategies. Essentially, Nagurney is proving that by choosing the Dominant Strategy in this situation, the user can eliminate extra travel time by avoiding the extra route. Braess’s paradox disappears in this high traffic situation because sticking with your original routes is strictly better than any of the other options regardless of what another person could choose.This is proven by the fact that “The Braess’s paradox and its negation occur only for user-optimizing behavior . . .” which is defined by travelers who “select their optimal routes of travel individually.” By subconsciously applying game theory to this situation, a person can actually save themselves travel time.