Math Colloquium Fall Series: The Mathematics of Opinion Dynamics

Heather Zinn-Brooks, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, will present a talk titled “The Mathematics of Opinion Dynamics.” Talk description: Given the large audience and the ease of sharing content, the shifts in opinion driven by online interaction have important implications for interpersonal interactions, public opinion, voting, and policy. There is a critical and growing demand to understand the mechanisms behind the spread of content online. While the majority of the research on online content focuses on these phenomena from an empirical or computational perspective, mechanistic mathematical modeling also has an important role to play. Mathematical models can help develop a theory to understand the mechanisms underpinning the spread of content and diffusion of information. These models provide an excellent framework because they are often relatively simple models with surprisingly rich dynamics. In this talk, I’ll introduce you to a variety of mathematical models for opinion dynamics, and I’ll highlight some particular problems that we study in my research group.
Refreshments will be served.