Guns, Zombies, and Steelhead Axes: cost-effective recommendations for surviving human societies

TL;DR

This study uses a mathematical model to compare zombie elimination strategies, finding that single-tap interventions with steelhead axes are most cost-effective for stopping zombie outbreaks.

Contribution

It introduces a novel quantitative framework to evaluate and compare the cost-effectiveness of different zombie eradication strategies.

Findings

Single-tap intervention averts the most zombies and deaths.

Conserving ammunition and using ranged weapons is most cost-effective.

Model predicts significant health benefits from specific intervention strategies.

Abstract

In pop culture, there are many strategies to curtail zombie apocalypses. However, it remains unclear what routes we should take to eliminate zombies effectively and affordably. So, we created a mathematical model to examine interventions that armed adults with steelhead axes or provided enough ammunition and a 9mm handgun to kill zombies in either a "single-tap" or "double-tap". We investigate each case over two years under slow, moderate speed, and fast zombies scenarios. We quantify health burden by zombies averted, disability-adjusted life-years averted, and determine cost-effectiveness using the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. Our predictions show the single=tap intervention is the best for stopping the zombie apocalypse, as it would avert hundreds of millions of zombies and deaths while also being the most cost-effective intervention. Altogether, this suggests conserving ammunition and supplying ranged weapons would be an effective use of limited resources in the event of a zombie uprising.