Shopping can sometimes be an unpleasant experience, especially when we are faced with high prices and long lines at the supermarket. It is at the time of paying when we find ourselves making mental calculations about which line will move faster to leave the establishment as soon as possible, although we are not always right in our choice.
This very common scenario has been broken down by the mathematician Eduardo Sáenz de Cabezón, known for his participation in the scientific dissemination and humor program Órbita Laika, on TVE. Through a video on his TikTok profile, Sáenz de Cabezón has offered a mathematical perspective on which row to choose in the supermarket.
In the video, he presents a typical situation: we are in the supermarket and we see two lines; One has a few carts, but they are very full, while the other has many carts with very few things. The question it asks us is, which one do we choose? Although the answer may initially seem contradictory, Sáenz de Cabezón explains that it is more prudent to opt for the line with fewer cars even if they are fuller.
The logic of this statement is based on the payment phase. According to the mathematician, the process of passing the products through the scanner is quick, but it is at the time of payment when delays can occur. What if the wallet, what if they can't find the coins, what if the PIN...
Therefore, when choosing a queue, what we are really doing is choosing how often we are going to face this process. If there are fewer cars in the queue, the payment will be made fewer times, so the wait will be less than in a queue with more cars, even if they are less full.
In this way, Sáenz de Cabezón invites us to apply a little mathematical logic in our daily lives to make our visits to the supermarket a little less tedious. The key is to reduce the number of times in which we are faced with the slowest part of the purchasing process.
