Galea is also investigating how people think when trying to escape house fires or a flooding house. "We've set up an online survey looking at how people move – at intersections, do they go left or right, for example. So far it seems that left-handed and right-handed people behave differently, and so do people who drive on different sides of the road. Working out the patterns will give people a better chance of surviving future disasters."
Galea, who spends his days mapping human behaviour, fell into his work "completely by accident". More than two decades later, he has amassed plenty of advice on getting out of a fire or crash alive. "The main thing is having good situational awareness," he says. "Understand the environment you're in, whether it's a plane, train, ship or building, know where your nearest exit is and how you'd escape in a hurry. If you're travelling with family, plan what you would do in an emergency, like whether you'd try to reunite before escaping, or meet outside."
On planes, Galea recommends choosing a seat close to an exit. "I always try and sit within five rows of an exit on an aisle seat," he says. "Once you're seated, count the rows to your nearest two exits in case it becomes too dark to see." Galea stresses, however, that planes are "really quite safe".
One thing that does make him upset, however, is disaster movies. The latest to hit our screens is 2012, which Galea says makes him "frustrated about how badly Hollywood gets it wrong".
"Disaster films convey completely the wrong view of how most people behave in these kind of situations," he says. "Hollywood shows people panicking, but my research shows that 9.9 times out of 10, people don't turn into crazed individuals, but behave quite rationally. They tend to help each other, too."
That, says Galea, is a crucial part of his job. "The knowledge that most people react in a humanist way helps me to get in up in the morning – I come to work knowing that people tend to behave in a supportive, helpful way in emergencies, so any way we can help inform intelligent building design and disaster strategies will help them to survive."
【重点单词及短语】
stuck in 陷入;插入
mathematical modelling 数学建模;数学模型;数学模拟
catastrophe n. 大灾难;大祸
simulate v. 模仿;假装;冒充
emergency evacuation 紧急疏散
intersection n. 十字路口;交集;交叉点;交叉
get it wrong 算错;误解
Question time:
1. What's the contribution that pro. Ed Galea makes to people in emergencies?
2. Does pro. Ed Galea suppose Hollywood disaster movies helpful in guiding people get out of disasters?