Path Optimization on Campus
I can’t be sure, but if I had to take a gamble, I would guess most of you—like me—are always trying to optimize our paths around campus. There are multiple reasons this could be true: (almost) late for class and want to minimize how much you miss? Want to make it to Tom Mannion’s OH before the rest of campus wipes out all the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? Want to get to bed when a coyote is chasing you down? Want to get the latest sighting of Ted Danson on campus? Want to make that last 2:58 p.m. dash to Browne on the weekend before all you have is Red Door? Want to beat the 10:30 a.m. line explosion at Red Door? Or the weekend 3 p.m. line explosion? Or the 10 p.m. line explosion, or… You get the idea.
Either way, it helps to know how to get around quickly. I will say, though, that these are paths attested by Google Maps, but there’s no way to say whether these will be true when the next set of construction projects takes over San Pasqual, or the Turtle Pond, or Lauritsen, or… You get the idea.
So, without much further ado, here is how you can get around campus quickly!
- **Red Door to Braun Gym **
** *To nobody’s surprise, the previously existing path from next to Lauritsen was the fastest way to the gym. In light of the construction of the Ginsburg Center for Quantum Precision Measurement (GCQPM), this is impossible, so the next best option stands to be going through *Lauritsen’s first floor to take the crossing to SWS on Arden, and then turning towards Cahill to get to the gym. If you don’t have access to Lauritsen (sucks to suck) then the next best option is probably via Orange Walk. 2. **Bechtel/Moore to Red Door **
** **You might’ve expected the shortest path for this to be through Murder Alley, but that’s only true if you’re getting from Annenberg (or Avery, via Annenberg) to Red Door. It turns out that to get from Moore or Bechtel to Red Door, taking Murder Alley is 1 minute slower than taking the path next to Steele. 3. **Caltech Hall to Tom Mannion OH **
** **I don’t know if you’re like me, but I try to optimize to the level of, “Which side of the Olive Walk should I be walking on?” So, for people like me, it turns out that you want to take the *South *side when you exit from Caltech Hall, and not the North side. This also makes sense given the current construction, where you can’t really use the North side anyway. 4. Red Door to SWS
Also, perhaps surprisingly, the fastest path to SWS on Arden is through Orange Walk, although the alternate path suggested by Google Maps is again not possible due to the GCQPM. Perhaps a strong contender is via Lauritsen again.
Anyway, I hope this has been helpful. I think I learned a lot of new things from this exploration. Firstly, our campus is tiny, but that doesn’t mean I can’t complain about the long walk from Annenberg to the gym. Secondly, the construction really does make it soooo much harder to optimize my paths. Thirdly, really the best way to get around campus fastest is to walk through buildings (or through walls if you’re just built different), so if you were hesitating about adding that major/minor, go for it! It means you can be more efficient when you’re walking around, so it’s 100% worth it. Fourthly, this optimization might be moot for skateboards or bikes. After all, if there’s a slope somewhere (like Murder Alley) vs. cobblestones, it might be worth it to take the longer path because it’s actually faster/more comfortable.
Anyway, it’s good food for thought! Try thinking about optimizations you make on the daily, and share them with people you care about so they can join in and everybody reaches maximal efficiency.