the ups and downs of making elevators go

the wall street journal published a great, short piece last week on theresa christy, a mathematician who works on elevators for otis elevator company. she likens her work to solving puzzles; in her profession, the puzzling questions include how long will someone wait for an elevator and when should an elevator carrying passengers stop to pick up another? She tells the reporter, "I feel like I get paid to play videogames. I watch the simulation, and I see what happens, and I try to improve the score I am getting."

via kottke