Zombies Now!!

Everyone loves zombies |

Jul 27th, 2010 @ 8:41 pm

Ungggg!

People for the Ethical Treatment of Zombies available at ThinkGeek

Reblogged from Shirtoid.

Jul 25th, 2010 @ 11:14 pm

Okay to be honest I can’t really understand a thing.

Basic Model
S = Susceptible
Z = Zombie
R = Removed (dead)

parameter δ : non-zombie related death
parameter ζ : humans in the removed class (dead) that can resurrect and become a zombie
transmission parameter β: susceptibles can become zombies through transmission
parameter α : destroying zombie by destroying/removing brain/head

Assumptions
- Only humans can become infected, and zombies only crave for human flesh
- New zombies can come from resurrection or infection
- Birthrate (π) is a constant
- Zombies move to the removed class by removing or destroying the brain of the zombie

Thus, basic model given is
S ′ = Π − β S Z − δS
Z ′ = β S Z + ζ R − αS Z
R′ = δS + αS Z − ζ R .

Shall not post much more - it’s 18 pages long, the entire thing (there’s some kind of coding in there, I can’t read code, think it’s javascript or something), you can download the PDF here and read it. There are a few more scenarios and all.

In conclusion, unless we hit them hard, fast and continuously, we’re screwed. And that’s against mindless, shuffling zombies, not faster (eg. L4D’s), smarter ones.

If the timescale of the outbreak increases, then the result is the doomsday scenario: an outbreak of zombies will result in the collapse of civilisation, with every human infected, or dead. This is because human births and deaths will provide the undead with a limitless supply of new bodies to infect, resurrect and convert. Thus, if zombies arrive, we must act quickly and decisively to eradicate them before they eradicate us.

(Reference: When Zombies Attack: Mathematical Modelling of an Outbreak of Zombie! research paper)