We all know Thomas Schelling’s classic analysis of focal points. One of his original examples stipulated that two individuals are to meet somewhere in New York City, but they do not know the time or place. Where would they appear? Schelling suggested that a twelve noon meeting at Grand Central Station (actually called Grand Central Terminal), beneath the central clock, would be focal.
Focal points change, and of course trains have become a less important form of transportation. I have been to Manhattan many times, but have not been in GCS in a good twenty years. And when I take the train, I usually end up getting off at Penn Station. Stick with noon as the time, which place would you find focal today? I see a few options:
1. The clock at Grand Central Station remains focal. Where else to go? Note the clock stands above the designated information point as well.
2. The clock remains focal, but only because Schelling himself has kept it that way with his analysis.
3. Ground Zero.
4. The Empire State Building.
5. The US Air Shuttle Terminal at La Guardia.
6. A central point at Times Square.
7. The Metropolitan Museum of Art or perhaps at Picasso’s Les Demoiselles D’Avignon painting at MOMA.
I will opt for number two, but for my mom I would wait on the stairs of the Met. What do you think? Comments, of course, are open.
Addendum: Brock Sides picks a focal point for Memphis and for the world; on the latter I say in front of The White House.
In his Richmond Fed interview, Schelling said the clock was no longer focal. For non-Americans I think it never has been: has to be the top of the empire state building.
I have never been to NYC but I played this game with my Poli-Sci and Econ classes after the Schelling win and it was amazing how well it worked. In our town (Athens, GA) it is the Arch at Noon.
1. [...] Note the clock stands above the designated information point as well.
This coupling of where and when is why one chooses 1.
Two possibilities: (1) Zabar’s–everyone ends up there eventually, and there’s no harm in stuffing yourself with free morsels while you wait. (2) Or by the Naked Cowboy in Times Square. The square itself so swarms with people that it’d be impossible to find someone without a focal point within the focal point. Yet it’s hard to miss a man in the middle in nothing but a Stetson and tighty whities.
For sports fans, I’d say at the giant bat outside Yankee Stadium. If you went with Times Square, it’d probably be by the TKTS booth or the Army recruiting station, as they’re the most memorable buildings within the square.
Tyler, first off, if you haven’t been to GCS in 20 years, make a special trip. The restoration work there is nothing short of breathtaking.
Second, for younger generations, there’s little doubt it’s the 86th floor of the ESB. Too many movies and too many off-the-cuff references to it.
The sad part is, it’s a terrible place to actually meet. The lines can be as long as 6 hours (Tom Hanks films notwithstanding) and even once you’re up there, it’s an awfully large observation deck.
PS: Ground Zero as a meeting place is just, well, morbid.
I remember this one from an economics class in the early 90s, out in California. Nobody picked the clock at GCS, several people actually matched up, and I would have been alone at my choice: Statue of Liberty at dawn. I thought it would be easier to find somebody if nobody else was there.
Since then, I’ve been to GCS, and would choose that, just because the building is beautiful now
Why don’t you just call the other guy on his cell phone and meet right away rather than wait until whenever? Seriously, the original question is mostly about common culture and it’s not as interesting a question today due to the advent and cheapness of mobile phones.
Times Square; although there isn’t an obvious ‘clock’ within TS. Below the giant electronic billboard perhaps, which historically has usually been used by Coca-Cola. The TKTS booth is also a good suggestion though. If you’re meeting someone in New York during the winter though I would go with the skating rink at Lincoln Center.
With three airports, choosing the terminal for only one of them cannot be correct. New York also has multiple train stations and ‘major’ subway junctions, so none of them can be focal either. Thanks to the Chinese Bus Cos. there isn’t even a singular bus terminal. New York’s transit system, and its connections with the national transit systems, simply don’t have a ‘center’ any more. I think the focal point of New York would have to be cultural; and a ‘cultural’ which all Americans and even non-Americans would relate to. That’s why I favor Time Square over the Met.
Peter’s suggestion for Washington’s statue in Union Square is a good one for the reasons he gives, but it requires local knowledge. I don’t think it’s well known outside of New York. I certainly didn’t know about it before I moved to NYC.
I always meet my ex-girlfriend at the Lion Statues in front of the New York Public Library. It’s at 42nd and 5th. We never DECIDED that would be “our place.” But it was so simple and central; that’s what it has become. Next to Bryant Park, it’s lovely. Highly recommended.
I’m with the empire state building, but not the top, too expensive. Since the public has never heard of the relevant experiment, the experiment is probably not determining except among economists.
Gabriel Rossman:
the answer for LA is trivial:
Gruamans chinese at Marilyn’s footprints for anyone in LA less then two years.
Tommy’s for everyone else.
http://www.originaltommys.com/story.html
…and Yes, the front gate at DisneyLand is the obvious answer for Orange County. I live in Orange County, and I had come to the same conclusion before I read your post — so we’ve already go a match!
I chatted about this with a colleague and we had instant answers for Washington DC – however, different ones. I would have gone to the Lincoln Memorial; he would have gone to the Capitol steps. After a bit of thought we both decided that the Washington Memorial was more central, but our initial instincts were still where we would probably go.
No definitive answer for NYC, unfortunately.
Your trackback feature doesn’t want to accept pings from my server, as the pinging address isn’t like the domain address (this is common for virtual hosts), so I’ll just link it here:
http://www.thereconstruction.org/?itemid=122
It’s a few thoughts related to your question, and the interaction between the game theory and the cultural aspects of it.
Grand Central Station was Schelling’s focal point because he asked Yale students to say where they would meet and thats the train station they come into. When we did this experiment at princeton in my Political Econ class the other day we almost all said Penn Station because thats where NJ Transit comes into (all but one person said noon).
Some have given examples of where they would meet after communicating. Before communicating, it’s probably Grand Central, though it’s not obvious. Grand Central does have the most dominant focal point, however, meaning that uncertainty about where within other focal points to meet may single Grand Central out as best. Penn Station and Times Square do not have focal points like GCT.
Within neighborhoods, though, it is obvious
Columbia University: Sundial
NYU: the Cube (astor place)
Union Square: the steps where the skateboarders are
Central Park: Either the “imagine” Beatles thingy or the Met, depending on which side you are on.
Midtown West: Times square subway station, by the musicians. Maybe TKTS, but leaving the station is highly undesirable for anyone who has been to Times Square before.
Chinatown: Confucius Plaza
…and so on
It’s still GCT at the clock because of the rational possibilities, it is by far the easiest to get to. Even though it’s no longer all that important as a rail hub, it’s still a subway hub in midtown.
No one who was familiar with NY at all would want to meet at the top of the ESB except for sentimental reasons, because you wait for a half-hour to an hour on line to get there.
Penn Station is eliminated because there is no obvious meeting location at Penn Station — it’s a sprawling mess with poor sight lines, and you’d never find anyone there without precise prearrangement.
Same for Times Square: while you could meet someone in TS you’d need to negotiate the details precisely to have a hope of finding them.
An airport? Please.
The steps of the Met. Mus. of Art are the only reasonable alternative of those offered, and they’re (a) not obviously preferable to the Natural History Museum, and (b) not well served by the subway.
GCT is still the focal point, and it’s not because of Schelling.
(I do agree that within specific neighborhoods there are obvious alternatives, but city-wide, it’s GCT.)
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