When slower is faster

TL;DR

The paper reviews the slower is faster (SIF) effect across various systems, highlighting how moderate individual efficiency can enhance overall system performance, and discusses its common features and future research directions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of the SIF effect across multiple domains and generalizes its key features, suggesting avenues for future research.

Findings

SIF occurs in pedestrian, traffic, logistics, and ecological systems.

Moderate individual effort can improve systemic performance.

Identifies common features and potential future research directions.

Abstract

The slower is faster (SIF) effect occurs when a system performs worse as its components try to do better. Thus, a moderate individual efficiency actually leads to a better systemic performance. The SIF effect takes place in a variety of phenomena. We review studies and examples of the SIF effect in pedestrian dynamics, vehicle traffic, traffic light control, logistics, public transport, social dynamics, ecological systems, and adaptation. Drawing on these examples, we generalize common features of the SIF effect and suggest possible future lines of research.