Cliff Pickover's The Galactic Question Center blog asks one interesting question every month. Last July, the question was this:
Consider three horses, each pulling a cart filled with hay. The horses are in a row, walking down the road. As it walks, the second horse gets to eat from the hay that the first horse is pulling. The third horse gets to eat from the hay the second horse is pulling. Which horse would you prefer to be?
The comments are just as interesting as the question! Link
(Photo: mexikids [Flickr])
Second horse; my load is lightening, but my energy stores are being replenished. This is true for the longer trip.
Never the third horse. He gets to eat, but his load never lightens.
I do wonder though about the drivers/farmers whose hay is being eaten! If anything the driver/farmer in the third cart would be happy because he can sell his hay at the market for a better price. No competition! Yay for simple economics! ;)
Or...being the first horse you may have to take directions from the driver which may mean more whippings. The other two just get to follow the first.
Also, I think the load issue might not have too great an impact. As long as the hay isn't baled it should be relatively light...for a horse.
But what do I know. I'm a human.
If you aren't the lead horse the scenery never changes.
But would I rather walk through horse-dung than walk first in a (possible) storm?
Ahh, another sleepless night for me.. ;-D
But Nr 3 is the only horse that gets to eat ánd gets the work done, so he has food ánd gets payed.
"I think the first horse is in the leader role, while having it's burdon relieved by the second horse by eating it.
The second and third horses represent followers, not in control of the direction they are going.
....
Basically, the three horses represent current society. First horse- upper class;leaders. Second horse- middle class. Third horse- lower class;servants.
"
.....
if you pictured our society like this, the leader would be eating from the 3rd horse's stack, and they'd be going in circles, just like our society is.