How the numbers grow

In this video, we will have a closer look at social dynamics. We will discuss different ways in which processes may unfold and what changes are observed over time.

One small remark is needed here: in the type of threshold model we’ve been using, those numbers can only grow as there is no mechanism that would allow villagers to leave the protest. Once they’re in, they’re always in. This is why the process can only stabilise at one point and nothing changes anymore. Obviously, with social processes, it’s more complicated than that.

For example, we could assume that protesters get tired after 3 days of protesting and go back home. With this type of behaviour (on top of the fact that we should be expecting non-linearity), we could have many more ways that the process could end in. It could stabilise at one point and then die out. Or some people would join in at the same time others would get tired and we could observe ‘waves’. With more complicated processes we may also expect more variants of end results.