Fight or Flight: Hello, Cinder.

I am trying to learn Cinder, the more advanced (meaning complicated) C++ version of Processing, so I can port my GPS program to it and hopefully get it to run a bit faster. In the mean time, I am messing around with the tutorials and came up with an idea to model pedestrian traffic as a way to learn Cinder's particle engine.

In the process, I stumbled upon what I think may be a significant milestone in the machine learning and artificial intelligence fields: I have created a behavior model for the most basic of human instincts: panic.

In the first shot, two "pedestrian" particles approach each other, and collide, because they fail to adapt to the situation as time unfolds. In the second shot, they are programmed to "turn right" if they sense an oncoming collision and feel threatened. However, I neglected to provide them a means of relief, and lacking a "fight" instinct, they are doomed to perpetual "flight".

I feel this way quite often on the streets of New York City...