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Group dynamics and crowd behavior is often scary
The way that people behave differently in a group, and participate in a self-reinforcing bandwagon effect, is rather scary.
The famous Stanford ‘prison simulation’ experiment in the 70s was aborted after six days when things got out of hand. Though it was only on the instigation of his then girlfriend, now his wife, that Professor Zimbardo canceled the exercise:
A lesser-known experiment was conducted even earlier, in 1967 at Palo Alto, California; and a film The Wave has been made, based on this experience.
http://internetevangelismday.com/blog/archives/158
Crowd in the Bible - a Christian perspective
Jesus was seemingly swarmed by crowds of people wherever he went. This often lead to some interesting teaching spots. This episode had him teaching from off-shore on a little boat.
http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%205:1-3&version=NIV