Cars: How did our worst idea become our only idea?
I saw a question on social media about "how did our worst idea become our only idea?" in response to car traffic. Surprisingly, I know the answer to this, both practically and theoretically. Get comfortable and see what you think of my traffic manifesto: Network theory says that the value of a network grows as a function of the nodes connected, generally on the order of a square law (the factor is argued, but not the general statement). This is known as Metcalfe's Law. We already collectively knew this for millennia, which is why paths, streets, and roads have grown to connect everything related to humans, and you hear stuff like "all roads lead to Rome" and such. The dawn of the telephone age formalized Metcalfe's Law, and the Internet has provided another data point, and recently Amazon and AirBnB have yet again. With any "iteration with preferential selection" situation, you end up with winner-take-all patterns, as more users