Ever wondered how opinions spread like wildfire? It turns out, it’s not just about what we hear, but who we hear it from. Mass media theory says that opinions go through a two-step process. First, influencers, or opinion leaders, get the message from the original sources. Then, they pass it on to th
Imagine trying to understand how health affects our economy. Researchers have come up with a clever way to measure health continuously and estimate how it changes over time. They found that when people who are already unhealthy face a health setback, it sticks around for a long time. Current models
Ever wondered how soccer players move around the field? A study in Brazil looked at this by tracking professional players during games. They used GPS to monitor 17 players from the same club during six official matches. The goal was to see if players moved differently in the first and second halves
Picture a scenario where people, or "agents, " rely on technology to work together. Each agent faces certain costs based on how their tech differs from others'. To save money, agents can start using the same tech as their partners, shaking up the entire system. Research highlights that advanced tech
Religion is a key part of how we understand societies. Just like languages or money, religions change and adapt to the world around them. This means that religions aren't static but evolve over time. There are some interesting questions we can ask about this. For instance, how many different religio
Scientists are exploring how the spread of religious ideas, or "memes, " can shape the diversity we see in religions today. They compare this to how diseases or helpful microbes spread and evolve within hosts. Just like pathogens, religious memes can jump from person to person, influencing how peopl
Think about how news spreads on the internet. People often share stories and tidbits without even checking if they're true. This happens when groups of online users, or netizens, have similar thoughts and attitudes. When they agree on something, they tend to spread it quickly among themselves. But i
A military judge has just ruled that plea deals made with three key suspects in the 9/11 attacks are still valid. This includes Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is believed to be the mastermind. The judge, Air Force Col. Matthew McCall, made this decision even though the U. S. Defense Secretary, Lloyd Au
Instagram was buzzing after Cardi B shared a video of her diamond bracelet stack on Wednesday. Among the shiny pieces, fans spotted a bracelet with what seemed like a hidden name. The singer-songwriter tried to conceal the name of her newborn daughter but couldn't stop fans from speculating. Many gu
Ever thought about why some people get really into conspiracy theories online? Scientists spent time looking at 36, 000 Reddit users and all their posts—that's a lot of reading! They found four main ways people join conspiracy groups: some dives right in, some ease into it, some start hot and then c
