How to be an extremist
Physics and Society
2022-01-26 v1 Social and Information Networks
Abstract
We present a toy model of opinion spreading in a society which combines a self-reinforcing mechanism with diffusion. The relative strength of these two mechanisms - called the affectability of the system - is a free parameter of the model. The model is run on a scale-free network and its asymptotic behaviour is investigated. A surprising emergent effect is observed: If every individual becomes more attentive to the opinions of others, the society as a whole switches from a plurality of nuanced opinions into the state of an absolute consensus on an extreme opinion. This counter-intuitive emergent behaviour may help to explain certain paradoxes in human history.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2201.10254,
title = {How to be an extremist},
author = {Tomáš Fürst and Anna Minarovičová and Františka Sandroni and Jakub Dostál},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2201.10254},
year = {2022}
}
Comments
7 pages, 4 figures, done with high school students