

Scientists discover tipping point for the spread of ideas (it's 10%) - econner
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-07-minority-scientists-ideas.html

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gjm11
Original article from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, from which the physorg
blogspam is copied verbatim (except that they took out some useful links and
added some irrelevant ones): <http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2902>

Abstract (and full text, if you don't mind paying or have an institutional
subscription) of the published paper:
<http://pre.aps.org/abstract/PRE/v84/i1/e011130>

Preprint in the arXiv:
<http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1102/1102.3931v2.pdf>

Discussion at HN a few days ago: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2805125>

Can't we please stop linking to physorg blogspam? Please?

------
FaceKicker
> Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that when just 10
> percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will
> always be adopted by the majority of the society.

Um, surely this statement needs to be qualified in some way? For example, I'd
guess that over 10% of the population is "unshakably" pro-life, and over 10%
of the population is unshakably pro-choice, and yet it is impossible that both
beliefs will become held by the majority of society.

------
scarmig
As I was reading the article, it became clearer and clearer that it had
increasingly serious issues. I got to thinking to myself, "Please, whoever
wrote this paper, please don't be physicists stepping outside their domain and
making the rest of us in physics look like fools."

Then I saw. Physica Review E.

=(

------
p4bl0
Then every political opinion that more than 10% of the population strongly
believe in should have the majority at some point, all of them. It seems that
this is a simple and obvious counter-example.

