Centre for Modeling & Simulation
Savitribai Phule Pune University

Technical Report CMS-TR-20180619


Title Importance of initial conditions in the polarization of complex networks
Author/s Snehal M. Shekatkar
Centre for Modeling and Simulation, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411 007 India
Sukratu Barve
Centre for Modeling and Simulation, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411 007 India
Abstract Currently used models of opinion formation use random initial conditions. In reality, most people in a social network, except for a small fraction of the population, are initially either unaware of, or indifferent to, the disputed issue. To explore the consequences of such specific initial conditions, we study the polarization of social networks when conflicting ideas arise on two different seed nodes and then spread according to a majority rule. Using the configuration model and the stochastic block model as examples, we show that this framework leads to substantially different outcomes than those which employ random initial conditions. Moreover, the empirically observed splits in the karate and the dolphins' networks naturally come out of this paradigm. Our work thus suggests that the existing opinion dynamics models should be reevaluated to incorporate the initial condition dependence.
Keywords networks
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Citing This Document Snehal M. Shekatkar, Sukratu Barve, Importance of initial conditions in the polarization of complex networks. Technical Report CMS-TR-20180619 of the Centre for Modeling and Simulation, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 411007, India (2018); available at http://cms.unipune.ac.in/reports/.
Notes, Published Reference, Etc.
Contact snehal.shekatkar@cms.unipune.ac.in
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