LND topic: opinion-dynamics page 1

opinion dynamics

Ukraine's 2014 Social Media Divide: A Data-Driven Look

December 31, 2025

In 2014, Ukraine saw deep divisions in its society. These splits were not just about politics. They were also about people's feelings and where they lived. To understand this better, researchers looked at Twitter data. They used this data to study how opinions changed over time and space. The study

technology

Understanding How People's Thoughts Change Online

November 13, 2025

People's thoughts and ideas change over time, especially online. Math can help us understand this. One way is by using something called deterministic dynamics. This is like a recipe that shows how something changes. For example, how people's opinions change on social media. There are different ways

celebrities

The Unlikely Pair: Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson

May 16, 2025

The world of sports and celebrity is full of surprises. One of the most unexpected pairings is between Bill Belichick, the legendary football coach, and Jordon Hudson, a young woman from Maine. The age gap between them is significant, with Belichick being nearly 50 years older than Hudson. This rela

science

How Opinions Spread: The Power of Leaders and Sources

November 8, 2024

Ever wondered how opinions spread like wildfire? It turns out, it’s not just about what we hear, but who we hear it from. Mass media theory says that opinions go through a two-step process. First, influencers, or opinion leaders, get the message from the original sources. Then, they pass it on to th

opinion

Message Flow in Social Networks: Leaders, Followers, and the Middlemen

November 6, 2024

Imagine you're in a big group, and someone important—say, a news anchor—has an update. That person tells a few influential friends, who then share it with everyone else. This is how messages and opinions move around, according to something called mass media theory. Most models only look at how opini

science

The Power of Initial Opinions: How Social Networks Nudge Us Together

November 6, 2024

Ever been in a chat group where everyone starts with different views? Scientists used the Deffuant model to study this on a social media-like network. They found that over time, people's opinions tend to move towards the average of their starting points. This is known as "focusing. " Just like when