Flash Crowd

"Flash Crowd" was a 1973 short story by science fiction author Larry Niven, one of a series about the consequences of instantaneous, practically free transfer booths that could take one anywhere on Earth in milliseconds.

Related Topics:
1973 - Science fiction author - Larry Niven - Transfer booth - Earth

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One consequence, not predicted by the builders of the system, was that with the almost instantaneous reporting of newsworthy events, tens of thousands of people worldwide would flock to the scene of anything interesting—along with criminals, hoping to exploit the instant disorder and confusion so created.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Larry Niven has described the phenomenon known as Flash mob 30 years before it became reality. The only change of the idea in real life was: Instead of instant teleportation the crowds organized themselves by Instant Messaging and the Internet.

Related Topics:
Flash mob - Instant Messaging - Internet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In various other books for example in Ringworld Larry Niven has shown that easy transportation disrupted traditional behaviour and made possible new forms of Parties around the globe, spontaneous congregations or worldwide shopping.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other reading:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• "Flash Crowd" is on pages 99-164 of the paperback edition of The Flight of the Horse, copyright 1973 by Larry Niven. The story (or parts of it) was originally published as "Flash Crowd" in Three Trips in Time and Space, copyright 1973 by Robert Silverberg, ed.
• "The Last Days of the Permanent Floating Riot Club" is on pages 41-52 of the paperback edition of A Hole in Space, copyright 1974 by Larry Niven.
• Other stories in this series are in these two books, and in All the Myriad Ways.
 
Flash Crowd: On the Web ►