"Using Mathematics to Study how People Influence Each Other’s Opinions"

Our article for teenagers and preteens about mathematical modeling of opinion dynamics has just been published in final form. Here are some details.

Title: Using Mathematics to Study how People Influence Each Other’s Opinions

Authors: Grace J. Li, Jiajie (Jerry) Luo, Kaiyan Peng, and Mason A. Porter

Abstract: People sometimes change their opinions when they discuss things with each other. Researchers can use mathematics to study opinion changes in simplifications of real-life situations. These simplified scenarios, which are examples of mathematical models, help researchers explore how people influence each other through their social interactions. In today’s digital world, these models can help us learn how to promote the spread of accurate information and reduce the spread of inaccurate information. In this article, we discuss a simple mathematical model of opinion changes that arise from social interactions. We briefly describe what opinion models can tell us and how researchers try to make them more realistic.

"How Do Our Brains Support Our Friendships?"

One of my articles just came out in final published form. Here are some details.

Title: How Do Our Brains Support Our Friendships?

Authors: Elisa C. Baek, Ryan Hyon, Mason A. Porter, and Carolyn Parkinson

Abstract: Have you ever wondered how your friends impact how you see the world? Or how you are able to keep track of the many different people in your life? To study these questions, scientists have begun to look at people’s social networks and their brains at the same time. In this article, we introduce this area of study and discuss how scientists use ideas from both neuroscience and mathematics to examine these questions. We also highlight some recent discoveries that reveal both how our brains support our ability to socialize with others and how our relationships with other people are related to how we use our brains.

"Finding Your Way: Shortest Paths on Networks"

Another article of mine just came out in final form. Here are some details.

Title: Finding Your Way: Shortest Paths on Networks

Authors: Teresa Rexin and Mason A. Porter

Abstract: Traveling to different destinations is a major part of our lives. We visit a variety of locations both during our daily lives and when we are on vacation. How can we find the best way to navigate from one place to another? Perhaps we can test all of the different ways of traveling between two places, but another method is to use mathematics and computation to find a shortest path between them. In this article, we discuss how to construct shortest paths and introduce Dijkstra’s algorithm to minimize the total cost of a path, where the cost may be the travel distance, the travel time, or some other quantity. We also discuss how to use shortest paths in the real world to save time and increase traveling efficiency.

"Connecting the Dots: Discovering the “Shape” of Data"

Another of my expository papers just came out in final form. Here are some details.

Title: Connecting the Dots: Discovering the “Shape” of Data

Authors: Michelle Feng, Abighail Hickok, Yacoub H. Kureh, Mason A. Porter, and Chad M. Topaz

Abstract: Scientists use a mathematical subject called topology to study the shapes of objects. An important part of topology is counting the number of pieces and the number of holes in an object, and researchers use this information to group objects into different types. For example, a doughnut has the same number of holes and the same number of pieces as a teacup with one handle, but it is different from a ball. In studies that resemble activities like “connect-the-dots,” scientists use ideas from topology to study the “shape” of data. Ideas and methods from topology have been used to study the branching structures of veins in leaves, voting in elections, flight patterns in models of bird flocking, and more.

Here is my tweet, in case you want to share it on social media.

Our introduction to topological data analysis (TDA) for teenagers and preteens is finally out in final form in Frontiers for Young Minds: https://t.co/6KQF2yyJUn@michellehfeng, Abby Hickok, Yacoub Kureh, MAP, & @chadtopaz

(plus special guest appearances by several Pokémon)

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) March 18, 2021

"The Waiting-Time Paradox"

Another of our papers for teens and pre-teens came out in final form today. Here are some details.

Title: The Waiting-Time Paradox

Authors: Naoki Masuda and Mason A. Porter

Abstract: Suppose that you are going to school and arrive at a bus stop. How long do you have to wait before the next bus arrives? Surprisingly, it is longer—possibly much longer—than what you might guess from looking at a bus schedule. This phenomenon, which is called the waiting-time paradox, has a purely mathematical origin. In this article, we explore the waiting-time paradox, explain why it occurs, and discuss some of its implications (beyond the possibility of being late for school).

"Who is the Most Important Character in Frozen? What Networks Can Tell Us about the World"

Petter Holme, Hiroki Sayama, and I decided to take on the challenge of writing a mathematics paper for Frontiers for Young Minds, a scientific journal for young readers. Only a handful of mathematics papers have been published among their many hundreds of articles. We decided to give an introduction to networks through the movie Frozen and calculation of centralities. Our paper came out today, and here are some details. You can take a look at our paper either at their website or in .pdf form.

Title: Who is the Most Important Character in Frozen? What Networks Can Tell Us about the World

Authors: Petter Holme, Mason A. Porter, and Hiroki Sayama

Abstract: How do we determine the important characters in a movie like Frozen? We can watch it, of course, but there are also other ways—using mathematics and computers—to see who is important in the social network of a story. The idea is to compute numbers called centralities, which are ways of measuring who is important in social networks. In this paper, we talk about how different types of centralities measure importance in different ways. We also discuss how people use centralities to study many kinds of networks, not just social ones. Scientists are now developing centrality measures that also consider changes over time and different types of relationships.

Scientific Journals are for Kids!

The journal Frontiers for Young Minds is very cool!

It is "an open-access scientific journal written by scientists and reviewed by a board of kids and teens."

Here is some text from their online blurb:

That is why distinguished scientists are invited to write about their cutting-edge discoveries in a language that is accessible for young readers, and it is then up to the kids themselves – with the help of a science mentor – to provide feedback and explain to the authors how to best improve the articles before publication.

As a result, Frontiers for Young Minds provides a collection of freely available scientific articles by distinguished scientists that are shaped for younger audiences by the input of their own young peers.

I approve!

(Tip of the cap to Petter Holme.)

Awesome Journal Idea: Young-Researcher, First-Author Interviews for Accepted Papers

Today, one of my papers was accepted by Biology Open, with which I didn't previously have any experience.

As part of their correspondence today, they also let the first author (my former doctoral student) know about the option of a young-scientist, first-author spotlight. They wrote the following (which you can also find on their website):

Congratulations on acceptance of your article in Biology Open. To help early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers, we have launched a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in BiO. If you would like to be included in this interview series, please tell us more about yourself by answering the questions below. You can answer all or just some of the questions, and you may also suggest additional questions and provide your answers to them if you wish.

How interesting! I have never seen a journal do this before. What a great idea! We really need to do something like this in the mathematics and physics communities.

Here are their suggested questions:

What is your scientific background and the general focus of your lab?

How would you explain the main findings of your paper to non-scientific family and friends?

What are the potential implications of these results for your field of research?

What has surprised you the most while conducting your research?

What, in your opinion, are some of the greatest achievements in your field and how has this influenced your research?

What changes do you think could improve the professional lives of early career scientists?

What's next for you?

They then added the following:

So that we can create a short biography to accompany your interview, please ensure that you include your job title, the name of the Principal Investigator of your lab, your contact address and a one-line synopsis of your research interests. Include your Twitter handle, if you have one, so we can tag you in any related tweets.

They also asked for a picture of the first author and "a particularly striking, interesting or unusual image" from their research (along with a caption describing it).

My Own. Personal. Polynomial.

My own. Personal. Polynomial.

Something to interpolate.
Before it’s too late.

Anyway, here is my personal polynomial.

(Tip of the cap to Dave Richeson.)

"Skype a Scientist" Program

I just received a classroom 'match' through the Skype a Scientist. My match is a 9th-grade classroom, but the range is kindergarten through 12th gradel.

Fellow scientists: You should sign up for this! It's a really good cause!

"Skype a Scientist matches scientists with classrooms around the world! Scientists will skype into the classroom for 30-60 minute Q and A sessions that can cover the scientist’s expertise or what it’s like to be a scientist. We want to give students the opportunity to get to know a “real scientist”, and this program allows us to reach students from all over the world without having to leave the lab!"

Update (9/06/17): I now have been matched with a second classroom. I believe I indicated that I was happy being matched with up to two classrooms.

Print and Play Cards: Women in Science

These print-and-play cards of Women in Science include some nice artwork and some very familiar names. My favorites are the mathematicians, of course.

A couple of years ago, I blogged about playing cards of Women in Computing.

"Skype a Scientist": Matching Scientists with School Classrooms

I signed up to talk to a couple of classrooms via the Skype a Scientist initiative. Maybe you will too?

(Tip of the cap to Noelle Beckman.)

Blinding People with Network Science (at the March for Science Los Angeles)

Puck Rombach and I will be at the March for Science Los Angeles tomorrow to teach people about the science of networks.

Learn about the Science of Networks with us at booth 11 at the @march4sciencela (Los Angeles March for Science) on Saturday 22 April! pic.twitter.com/74e394iPGx

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) April 21, 2017

We'll be drawing from materials here (and hence here) and will also have booklets on essential concepts and core ideas about networks.

Mathematizing the Alphabet

Here in the Mathematical Institute at University of Oxford, we're mathematizing the alphabet, starting with 'A' with Roger Penrose's entry on aperiodic tiles.

Another Victory for The Onion: Education Edition

Wow, The Onion has scored yet another victory with this scathing article about education. I don't agree with what appears to be the underlying opinion of whoever wrote the article, but I still enjoyed its scathing humor. I don't think it's all doom and gloom, though: I genuinely think that one can reach students who are from the wrong side of the tracks or have other difficulties to overcome. (I do happen to believe a great deal in outreach and in attempting to inspire people.) At the same time, one shouldn't be naive and think that inspiration itself is enough, so it's not like there aren't any relevant implied points in this article.

Update: Thinking about this further, maybe the point of the author is that we should get behind all of our students --- and that is something with which I agree wholeheartedly. I was reading a more insidious message (i.e., not bothering with the difficult cases) into what I thought the author was suggesting, but maybe I was misreading the underlying opinion?

"Commentary: Teach Network Science to Teenagers"

Our article on our outreach efforts to teach network science to teenagers now has its page numbers, so it's out in final form. Here are the details.


Title: Commentary: Teach Network Science to Teenagers

Authors: Heather A. Harrington, Mariano Beguerisse Díaz, M. Puck Rombach, Laura M. Keating, and Mason A. Porter

Abstract: We discuss our outreach efforts to introduce school students to network science and explain why researchers who study networks should be involved in such outreach activities. We provide overviews of modules that we have designed for these efforts, comment on our successes and failures, and illustrate the potentially enormous impact of such outreach efforts.


Also don't forget our associated teaching materials and University of Oxford's promotional video about our efforts.

"Sharing the Beauty of Networks"

University of Oxford has just released its promotional video about my lab's outreach efforts to teach school students about networks! Pass it on. :)

Discussion of Science Books and Other Sources of Inspiration on 'Quantum Frontiers'

John Preskill has written a blog entry on Quantum Frontiers about books and other sources of scientific inspiration from when we were kids. Thus far, three of us have brought up baseball cards as part of such inspiration.

Update (1/09/13): In case you have not peen following the comments on the IQIM blog post above, let me urge you to read what various people have had to say about what popular science books (and other things) got them interested in science when they were kids. I think it's really cool to read what a lot of people are writing about that.

She Fucking Loves Science

Elise Andrew has done a huge amount good for science outreach with her Facebook page called "I Fucking Love Science". (I am a subscriber and I enjoy many of the posts, but I am particularly pleased with its outreach success.) You can read more about it in this article.

Tip of the cap to I Fucking Love Science.

Network Science Workshop for School Students: Part Deux

Following the immense success of last spring's outreach workshops on networks for elementary school students, my lab is going to have another set of 'networks for school students' workshops this fall!

There will be a couple of events in Oxford, and we'll also a bit of a travelling road show. (I know that some of you are teachers, so if you want us to come to your school, go to the web page and fill out the request form.)

There is a good chance that University of Oxford will also have a press release about our outreach work, so my fingers crossed that that will happen as well.