A Zombie's Worst Enemy: Canadian Math Geeks

Scholars devise method to eliminate pesky Hollywood bugaboo

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 15, 2009 3:41 PM CDT

(Newser) – Decades of terrorizing sleepy towns in grade-B horror flicks hasn't prepared zombies for their newest foe: Canadian math geeks. Scholars in Ottawa have formulated a mathematical model to combat a zombie outbreak, dismissing quarantines and cures: “The most effective way to contain the rise of the undead is to hit hard and hit often," they conclude in their paper, When Zombies Attack!

“As seen in the movies, it is imperative that zombies are dealt with quickly, or else we are all in a great deal of trouble,” wrote the authors, whose paper will be published in a book later this year. The scenario may be hypothetical, but has real-world applications, like “allegiance to political parties or diseases with a dormant infection,” the mathematicians note. Now what about swine flu?

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

A person dressed as a zombie marches in the street during the 34th annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A woman dressed as a zombie marches in Greenwich Village's Halloween parade, Friday, Oct. 31, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Dima Gavrysh)

A zombie outbreak can be successfully overcome through "quick, aggressive attacks" on the undead, Canadian scholars have concluded. (Shutter Stock)

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While aggressive quarantine may contain the epidemic, or a cure may lead to the co-existence of humans and zombies, the most effective way to contain the rise of the undead is to hit hard and hit often. - Canadian scholars, on zombies

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A Zombie's Worst Enemy: Canadian Math Geeks