heed , the way of life things have been going lately , you probably would n’t be alone in thinking it ’s only a matter of time until there ’s a full - blown zombie outbreak . And if ( or when ) the uprising begins , you ’re go to need a program – take , that is , you don’talready have one .

fortuitously , zombie apocalypses ( apocalti ? ) are one of many areas where the answer all boils down to mathematics . A new video by the inimitable Numberphile explain exactly how Z - Day would go – and how you could best protect yourself .

It turn out that , as anyone who has watched a repulsion motion picture knows , zombies are quite like viral particleswhen you regard them on a universe - wide scale : they move around randomly , diffuse throughout a population , and either wipe out or infect whoever they add up into contact with .

So , using a case of math called a partial differential par , or PDE , it ’s potential to work out your best course of study of action – and unlike the suspiciously - well - groomed survivor in Hollywood zombi films , it emphatically does n’t postulate fighting back .

“ It ’s much better to run away from a zombie than it is to try on to slow them down , ” explains numerical biologist Thomas Woolley , whose large brain would probably make him a delicacy for his undead pursuers .

“ I wo n’t guess you , ” he bring . “ I will be at the head of the hoi polloi [ running ] . ”

So what does the maths say about defeating a zombie invasion ? It ’s fair ego - explanatory actually : we just postulate to kill zombies at a faster charge per unit than they taint other humans .

Since the zombies invade at a pace that ’s relative to their distance from us and their focal ratio of locomotion , that means the best grade of legal action is toget as far away as possiblefrom the horde of undead . old numerical models of zombie eruption – and there have been quite a few – have send thenorthern Rockiesas your best stakes for sanctuary , though rural region in universal would in all probability stay secure for weeks after major metropolis got totally zombified .

You might want to stay there for a while , too : one bailiwick from 2017found that within 100 days of patient zero , zombies would outnumber man a million to one . It would take a foresighted flow of bringing up and fighting before humans managed to reclaim the planet .

Of course , since your fellow world are basically zombiesin potentia , there is another option : pre - emptive attack . powerful now .

But Woolley does n’t recommend that . in spades not .

He prognosticate .