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Panic is a sudden Fear which dominates or replaces thinking and often affects groups of people or animals. Panics typically occur in Disaster situations, and may endanger the overall health of the affected group. The word ''panic'' derives from the name of the Greek God Pan , who strikes fear into the enemies of His subjects.

Prehistoric Man used mass panic as a weapon when hunting animals, especially Ruminant s. Herd s reacting to unusually strong sounds or unfamiliar visual effects were directed towards Cliff s, where they eventually jumped to their death when cornered.

Humans are also vulnerable to panic and it is often considered infectious, in the sense one person's panic may easily spread to other people nearby and soon the entire group acts Irrational ly, but people also have the ability to prevent and/or control their own and other's panic by disciplined thinking or training (such as disaster drills). Architect s and City Planner s try to accommodate the Symptom s of panic, such as Herd Behavior , during Design and Planning , often using Simulation s to determine the best way to lead people to a safe exit and prevent congestion ( Stampede s). The most effective methods are often nonintuitive. A tall column, approximately 1 ft in diameter, placed in front of the door exit at a precisely calculated distance, may speed up the evacuation of a large room by up to 30%, as the obstacle divides the congestion well ahead of the choke point.

In Sociology , precipitate and irrational actions of a group are often referred to as panics, as for example "sex panic", "stock market panic". (See Hysteria ). Panic is usually understood to mean active, but senseless behaviour (e.g. trying to flee in a random direction or suddenly attacking others without consideration), while hysteria often carries a more passive notion (as in crying uncontrollably). An influential theoretical treatment of panic by a sociologist is found in Neil J. Smelser 's, ''Theory of Collective Behavior''.

The science of panic management has found important practical applications in the armed forces and emergency services of the world.

Many highly publicized cases of deadly panic occurred during massive public events.

The layout of Mecca was extensively redesigned by Saudi authorities in an attempt to eliminate frequent Stampede s, which kills an average of 250 Pilgrim s every year. {Link without Title}

Soccer stadiums have seen deadly crowd rushes and stampedes, such as at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield , England, in 1989. This led to controlled entry gates and stricter rules by the end of the 1980s to regulate seating arrangements.


PANIC AND THE LAW

Most jurisdictions limit the Freedom Of Speech in order to deter people from creating potentially dangerous panic situations, especially a false alarm (the classic example is shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theatre when in fact nothing is burning).

Some Criminal defendants attempt to evade or reduce the severity of their Conviction by claiming their Violence was induced by a sense of panic. Certain jurisdiction may limit punishment in case one's actions for Self-defence were excessively powerful because of Panic Reaction .

Panic experienced by air travellers during the last minutes of their lives aboard crashing commercial flights has been the basis of several multi-million dollar Lawsuit s brought against Airline s, based on the legal concept of emotional Suffering .


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