We're the Human Swarm

Imagine yourself walking through a maze and then suddenly being trapped. Being trapped into another small room where an alarm goes off. Being scared up. Well, that happened to me. When I was at the Dutch Design Week, there was a stand, near to the Klokgebouw at Eindhoven. You had to choose between two rooms, screened with curtains. Eventually I think it didn’t matter which curtain you’d choose because it al leaded to the same big room. But, I noticed almost everyone followed each other. Human instinct, right?

I choose the right curtain (and yes i caught myself doing the same as everyone else) and was being lead into another room. The room was filled with little gates, what must represent as a maze.

No mazes please

As I followed the crowd and kept walking rounds, I got quite annoyed. Since I was a child I never really liked mazes because: what’s the point? Walking rounds to get yourself lost, interesting! When I came to the point I actually wanted to get out of the maze (claustrophobia is also a thing) I was being lead into a small space. There were little insects projected on the walls and everyone was like hmm?

Leave the room ASAP

Then, suddenly, an alarm went off. A lady told the crowd (including me) we had to leave the room immediately because there was an emergency. I left the room as soon as i could, and was leaded to another room (again). Inside the room was a screen where something was projected on and next to the screen was a text, called: ‘The Human Swarm’. I was interested again, what was happening? The screen showed how we - The Human Swarm - behaved when the alarm went off (and at that moment, it really felt like i was a celebrity who had been photographed by the paparazzi without knowing). The screen showed us how we immediately when the alarm went off followed each other without knowing what was right. It showed us that we are just like a group of animals who always follow each other when something frightening happens.

Experience all the way

I thought this coolhunt could join ‘Experience economy’ because it lets people really experience something. You don’t get into a usual maze but into a strange maze which changes into a weird self-realization (which you had never expected in the first place). I think it’s really fascinating that you experience something you would have never imagined would happen. There isn’t a particular category in science of the time which represents this activity/coolhunt, but if I had to create one myself it would be: ‘Experience the unknown’.