You might also look at Braess' Paradox[1], which while often applied to traffic planning, tells us that a network of nodes that choose their options selfishly will not result in improved performance when expanding that network (increase in number of possible choices).
Braess' Paradox "states that adding extra capacity to a network when the moving entities selfishly choose their route, can in some cases reduce overall performance. This is because the Nash equilibrium of such a system is not necessarily optimal."
Also, isn't the internet itself more or less a "a network [where] the moving entities selfishly choose their route"?
>Also, isn't the internet itself more or less a "a network [where] the moving entities selfishly choose their route"?
The moving entities? No, the routers make choices; it's equivalent to the road telling you which turns to take. In the example scenario the router at 'start' could evenly distribute the entities for optimal performance.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braess%27s_paradox