How Do People Decide Whether to Use Stairs or an Escalator?
Ordinary choices often hide invisible systems.
The choice between stairs and escalators looks simple, yet it changes with mood, luggage, health, and time pressure.
Some travelers spend energy to save time. Others spend time to save energy. The calculation is rarely conscious.
The hidden mechanism is energy economics. Humans constantly trade effort against expected rewards.
People think they choose a route. Often, they choose how to spend their energy.
