Coupling Theory Quotes

“Since the [Golden Gate Bridge] opened in 1937, it has been the site of over 1,500 suicides. No other place in the world has seen as many people take their lives in that period.

What does coupling theory tell us about the Golden Gate Bridge? That it would make a big difference if a barrier prevented people from jumping or a net was installed to catch them before they fell....

So when did the municipality that run the Golden Gate Bridge finally decide to install a suicide barrier? In 2018, more than 80 years after the bridge opened.

In the intermediating period the bridge authority spent millions of dollars building a traffic barrier to protect cyclists crossing the bridge, even though no cyclist has ever been killed by a motorist on the Golden Gate Bridge. It spent millions building a median to separate North and South bound traffic on the grounds of public safety. On the southern end of the bridge, the authority put up an 8 foot cyclone fence to prevent garbage from being thrown onto Fort Baker, a former army installation on the ground below. A protected net was even installed on the initial construction of the bridge at enormous cost to prevent workers from falling from their deaths. The net saved 19 lives. Then it was taken down. But for suicides? Nothing for more than 80 years...”
― Malcolm Gladwell, Talking To Strangers: What We Don't Know About Strangers