How Governments Can Harness the Science of Synchronized Randomness
Brief
During a panel discussion on the second day of the World Government Summit 2019, Professor Strogatz stated that a group’s behavior could be predicted if one knows how its members behave with one another. He stressed that individuals by nature do not wish to become a minority. At the same time, they would never be reluctant to mix with different people, provided that these others are not a majority in society. Strogatz gave analogies of insights into complex systems which he said, “behave in unintended ways” when reaching a specific phase when the interaction is strong enough to cause synchronization and change on the level of the group, even when the parts are inanimate. Strogatz concluded with the idea that “a bit of diversity could have huge social impacts on reducing segregation possibly promoting greater social harmony.”
Plenary Hall
February 11, 2019 -
09:40 - 10:10
