I wonder if the experience of ‘shortcut’ is part of the motivation, so that as soon as you’ve established a path, what constitutes ‘shortcut’ also changes. I’d be interested to know if curved paths were more desire path-resistant, because they appeal to an intuition about adjusting (and therefore optimizing) course.
seems to me its the entire motivation. but whether the shortcuts have impact on the grass depends on how popular they are. people shortcut randomly all the time but it only makes a desire path when a large number of them go the same way regularly
Note that my (implied) emphasis is on experience. If the experience is what is important, convenience isn’t actually what creates desire paths. Instead it’s the experience of making a personal choice to increase efficiency, of joining a club of renegades who brave the path less traveled, etc… So maybe allowing for that experience in the managed environment is another way of limiting desire paths.
yes that makes sense. i think the degree of desire for that experience is always there, but the more rigid the built environment is, the more frustrated that desire becomes.
I wonder if the experience of ‘shortcut’ is part of the motivation, so that as soon as you’ve established a path, what constitutes ‘shortcut’ also changes. I’d be interested to know if curved paths were more desire path-resistant, because they appeal to an intuition about adjusting (and therefore optimizing) course.
seems to me its the entire motivation. but whether the shortcuts have impact on the grass depends on how popular they are. people shortcut randomly all the time but it only makes a desire path when a large number of them go the same way regularly
Note that my (implied) emphasis is on experience. If the experience is what is important, convenience isn’t actually what creates desire paths. Instead it’s the experience of making a personal choice to increase efficiency, of joining a club of renegades who brave the path less traveled, etc… So maybe allowing for that experience in the managed environment is another way of limiting desire paths.
yes that makes sense. i think the degree of desire for that experience is always there, but the more rigid the built environment is, the more frustrated that desire becomes.