Notices by Charo del Genio (paraw@mathstodon.xyz)

New paper out.

What happens when you make a model that includes realistic details about how people discuss ideas and decide how to act upon them? The answer is that with just 3 such elements of realism, one can mathematically explain the emergence of commonly observed situations, such as reaching a consensus and exchanging opinions, but also the separation of ideologies and the appearance of stable polarization. Not only this, but one can also account for phenomena such as peer pressure, cognitive dissonance, tactical voting and toxic idealism ( @benroyce I told you I was going to do it 😀 ) and prove how they affect the final state of the system.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960077924015352

#physics #mathematics #networks #bifurcations #opiniondynamics #consensus #polarization #voting #peerpressure #cognitivedissonance #tacticalvoting #toxicidealism

@msbellows @Lana @jstogdill @benroyce "Literally millions of other lives would be saved".
A main plot point in "Going postal" by the late great #gnuterrypratchett is the concept of actuarial murder, when protagonist Moist von Lipvig is confronted by Mr. Pump, who is a golem and who accuses him of having killed some people.

@msbellows @Lana @jstogdill @benroyce actual quote from the book follows. #gnuterrypratchett

“Do you understand what I'm saying?"shouted Moist. "You can't just go around killing people!"

"Why Not? You Do." The golem lowered his arm.

"What?" snapped Moist. "I do not! Who told you that?"

"I Worked It Out. You Have Killed Two Point Three Three Eight People," said the golem calmly.

"I have never laid a finger on anyone in my life, Mr Pump. I may be - all the things you know I am, but I am not a killer! I have never so much as drawn a sword!"

"No, You Have Not. But You Have Stolen, Embezzled, Defrauded And Swindled Without Discrimination, Mr Lipvig. You Have Ruined Businesses And Destroyed Jobs. When Banks Fail, It Is Seldom Bankers Who Starve. Your Actions Have Taken Money From Those Who Had Little Enough To Begin With. In A Myriad Small Ways You Have Hastened The Deaths Of Many. You Do Not Know Them. You Did Not See Them Bleed. But You Snatched Bread From Their Mouths And Tore Clothes From Their Backs. For Sport, Mr Lipvig. For Sport. For The Joy Of The Game.”

@mekkaokereke @craignicol I can relate to that. I am a white cis hetero European university professor. I was once visiting a group at a university in Texas and taking a walk on campus, when a student called the cops on me because "there's a man dressed weirdly walking around". It turns out I was wearing a T-shirt with horizontal coloured stripes that were similar to the LGBT flag colours. Same place, a few days later, I was wearing pink and a girl stopped me and told me "You know, Jesus loves you even if you are like this.".

This left me with two thoughts. The first was the level of discrimination experienced by LGBT people day in day out. The second was that ultimately, I probably had no problems with the cops (i.e., I'm alive) because I'm white. These were/are chilling thoughts, and I think this is what people refer to as privilege. Scratch that, it's not chilling, it's bloody scary.

@mekkaokereke thank you for this.

I can actually easily punch through several wooden boards or bricks, or even go through them hitting them with the side of my hand (done it last time in October, as my current city organized a demonstration of various sports to promote physical activity, and I participated with my martial arts club). In fact, very many years ago, when I was still a teenager, I had to punch through a car window from the outside, to save the driver who had just lost control and crashed on a lamppost (the doors were jammed and the car was leaking petrol all around).

But I didn't know about laminated glass. I just read about it, and FWIW I think you are absolutely right about it being really difficult to punch through. So, thanks for the info (also fuck Musk and his company, but that goes without saying)!