New York City streets are not as regular as you might think
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THINGS THAT ARE NOT CONTAINED IN OUR MENTAL MODELS
The inaccurately named blog Stuff Nobody Cares About did a post on something we do care about.
They got an old data table that shows that the distances between streets, the distances between avenues, and the width of street and avenues in New York City varies more than you might think.
For example:
* The distance between Lexington and Park Avenues is 405 feet, but that between 5th and 6th Avenue is 920 feet, or 127% further apart
* 6th and 7th street are 181.75 feet apart, but the streets between 11th and 16th street are 206.5 feet apart, or 14% further apart.
One reason we find this interesting is because we’ve heard people argue about how long it takes to walk a crosstown or uptown block in Manhattan but it depends on which blocks you’re talking about.
We also find this a useful reminder of how are mental representations are mental models that simplify reality.
When you live in New York City, you tend to think you are in a perfect grid. Here we see that it’s not the case.
Also interesting is that the Avenues in Manhattan deviate from True North by about 29 degrees.
