The gripping potential of

Sociothermodynamics

“Science & Vie”May 2015 N°1172

Alberto Hernando de CastroCEO at SThAR

info@sthar.comLausanne, Switzerland

Our obsession: Why some messages become viral?

Demographics Opinions and decision making

Networks

credit: Miquel Nieto from CartoDB, thanks man looks cool!

Gibrat’s law:

populationgrowth ratepopulation’s growth

credit: Miquel Nieto from CartoDB, yeah definitely cool!

?Does an ensemble of cities and their population obey the Laws of Thermodynamics?

Virtual Simulation

Ohio (US)

Spanish provinces

“Lisa, in this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics!”

credit: Miquel Nieto from CartoDB, so cool that I’m using it for third time!!

Resonances at harmonics build from music to atoms and galaxies...

...but also destroy from biological molecules to bridges

How do we humans take decisions? Are we rational?

“We have limited capacity. We know we cannot think about everything at the same time.”

Prof. Joyce Wang

We work with incomplete information. We are irrationals (sorry Prof. Nash)

Quantum is the answer to your problems!

Important:

• Not a physical/neurobiological theory of the brain nor a theory of consciousness

• It is a mathematical/computational theory about human cognitive and decision behaviors

Why quantum?

Evidence 1: the question order effect (non-commutative probability)

Do you generally think Bill Clinton is honest and trustworthy?

50%

How about Al Gore?

60%

Do you generally think Al Gore is honest and trustworthy?

68%

How about Bill Clinton?

57%

Tourangeau, Rips, & Rasinski, 2000; Hogarth & Einhorn, 1992; Carlson & Yates, 1989; Tversky & Kahneman, 1983.

In 1996:

G I G IClassical decission process:

G

I

G

I

G

I

G

I

Quantum decission process:

Why quantum?

Evidence 2: Ambiguity (superposition of states)

Guilty or Innocent?

The wisdom (or not) of the crowd

First noticed by Charles Darwin’s cousin Francis Galton in 1907

However, our oppinions are modulated by social influence to social consensus (even if wrong).

Humans making decisions in a society...

...quantum atoms interacting in a molecular system

Very nice but... what can we do with all this?

Viral marketing

Very nice but... what can we do with all this?

Electoral campaigns

Spanish Regional elections May 2015 Catalan elections Sep 2015

Very nice but... what can we do with all this?

Sustainable transportation networks

THANKS FOR LISTEN!!

and many others!