Modelling collective human behaviour
6:30PM, 30 Jan 2020
Mathematicians and social scientists discuss quantitative models of group dynamics and emergent behaviour on 30 Jan from 6:30. All welcome.
Collective human behaviour describes emergent behaviour when individuals are influenced by the group to which they belong. The focus is often on behaviour that violates laws and social norms. This can range from the innocuous, such as fashion fads, to more serious instances, such as an anomalous voting or disproportionate responses to stress. For instance, it is now widely believed that Cambridge Analytica influenced both the US and UK democratic processes. In an era of social media storms and political demagoguery, understanding the workings of group dynamics, which can be hard to predict, has become increasingly urgent.
In this event, physicist Gioia Boschi from Kings College London explores opinion dynamics with emergent collective memory; physicist Carmen Cabrera Arnau from University College London discusses the dynamics of road accidents in urban areas; and mathematician Zahra Jafari from University College London talks about migration flows. After the talks, there is a general discussion on the scope for turning collective human behaviour into a quantitative science. Everyone is welcome.
Late Night at London Institute
Late Night at London Institute is a series of meetings at which junior scientists get to know each other and discuss a particular research theme in the evening. They start at 6 o’clock with drinks, followed by 15-minute talks and further drinks and discussion into the night.
