Jan-Michael Ross and Dmitry Sharapov, both business professors at Imperial College London, studied the competitive interactions among yachts engaged in head-to-head races in the America’s Cup World Series. The researchers found that sailors often engaged in “covering,” or copying, the moves made by their rivals—especially when their boat was in the lead. It might seem surprising that sailors at the front of the pack would imitate those who are trailing, but Ross notes that such emulation makes sense: as long as the leaders do as their rivals behind them do, their lead will remain locked in
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