Hacker News Reader

Comment by notnaut | Hacker News Reader

I have noticed this too as a very tall person. At times I’ve realized I’ve got a lot more sway over controlling a crowd than most. Unfortunately for me, the confidence to wield it doesn’t just come with the physical trait.

View on HN

I have experienced the same situation at concerts. The worst possible scenario is you needed to pee but everyone that came with you is near the stage in the pit. Even in a small venue this is painful. My reluctance to push through a crowd before has caused people to push me and use me like a cow catcher. Crowds are funny things.

Having been in a couple dense crowds, you really just have to push to get people out of the way. But I'd rather avoid situations where that's required.

One weird way to move fast through a crowd that I've found is to keep your hands up. Not sure why, but when I'm doing this, most of the people seem to get out of the way. Works almost every time.

A strategy that I've seen suggested that works very well for me is to just look at your feet. You don't need to care about where people bodies are, bodies follow feet, watch your steps, not only you won't step on or get stepped on, but you are also less likely to hit other people.

I also won't see your hands up.

I think part of the reason hands up work is also simply because you take less space with your hands up (you body becomes narrower overall).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com