Reflection

WANDER JAGER: In this module, you learned how social computation helps us to understand how various types of influences spread over social networks. Different phenomena can be studied, for example, the spreading of viruses or how norms propagate through social networks or how information is being spread. Knowing that is very good to get a better understanding of the dynamics of, for example, opinion polarisation and conflict. A better understanding helps us to support the spreading of beneficial behaviours in society, to diagnose, for example, how conflicts emerge, and perhaps more importantly, what strategies would work in resolving social conflict. But of course, networks are everywhere in nature. We have to realise that we are deeply connected with nature.

Some people even consider the whole world as a one connected organism, Gaia. It is important for us to understand how we, as humans, take stuff from natural systems but also what we offer.