Human behavior on social media is similar to collective behavior in nature

[seydor]

one of the mysteries of biology in this century is why/how collective behavior appears to be a fractal from cell cultures to societies and their digital facsimiles

(also, social media are part of nature)

[soulofmischief]

Doesn't seem like much of a mystery to me. It's clear to me that there is a fundamental grammar underpinning all dynamic systems, and multi-agent systems of sufficient complexity are bound to have fractal similarities resulting from this grammar.

For example, a universal concept which can apply to any system with measurable state variables is "compression", a naturally occurring phenomenon as high-energy systems tend toward lower energy states. Our DNA compresses genetic expression via instruction sets, our brain compresses incoming information, matter itself compresses over time when left to its own devices.

The underlying mechanism for each of these processes varies, but it results from the same basic energy principles. Other such universal concepts include expansion, oscillation, pretty much any movement of a measured value around or between a range of target values. This grammar accounts for much of the behavior of complex dynamic systems, due to energy conservation being a fundamental quality of stable systems.

[approaching236]

It's actually kinda not all that mysterious. Just game theory.

This book Nonzero by Robert write isbn:‎9780679758945 was pretty enlightening for me

[Silverback_VII]

you say cell culture but look at this: https://youtu.be/0Kx4Y9TVMGg very complex patterns simply with particles attracting or repulsing each other.

[ispo]

Think of the dynamics, at each scale they might be different, but similar patterns emerge: rich (or fit) gets richer, minimum distance (or effort) to achieve a goal (e.g. convey information).

[generalizations]

I don’t hear about this often. Do you have any sources where I can read more?

[ispo]

So what? Any complex system behaves like that, which makes the analogy banal.

[bobthepanda]

Part of good science is trying to verify the obvious, because sometimes what is "obvious" is not correct, and sometimes it is partially true but differs in ways that are unexpected. We have a whole science crisis around replicating results as it is.

[mandmandam]

The potential to massively alter collective human behaviour via tiny variations in social networks is objectively interesting, and important. There's quite a lot at stake there, if you care to look - as the article does a decent job of beginning to address.

The comparison and similarities of human flocking behaviour to other complex systems are not one to one, and are poorly understood. Consider that you might simply be overestimating your understanding.

[jason-phillips]

Not quite, I would argue. That may be true of any unregulated system of peers, but not a structured, regulated system.

[Operative0198]

The research study being quoted: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2025764118

[A4ET8a8uTh0]

In a sense, this article confirms my personal pet theories on the subject. Despite being a little more evolved than birds, by evolutionary standards we are really not that far off. One of the few things that may actually make us sufficiently different is the fact that we can pass knowledge that would take millennia for evolution to sort out.

Naturally, the question becomes what we do about it, implications that social media effectively controls our modern life and that despite some reasons to moderate its influence, slim chance of that appears to be possible.

[mattgreenrocks]

I take issue with the presumption of the inevitability of social media. Collectively we cannot put the genie back in the bottle, so I don't wish for that. Individually, we can choose how we engage with it, and in doing so, moderate the effects of it somewhat.

Another way to say it is: one must choose to be terminally online, and become part of the mob.

[amelius]

I assume behavior in nature is typically more polite, though.

[brokenmachine]

What makes you think nature is polite? Nature is brutal.

[nomdep]

So… animals