Complex Systems Studies
2.3K subscribers
1.54K photos
121 videos
114 files
4.45K links
What's up in Complexity Science?!
Check out here:

@ComplexSys

#complexity #complex_systems #networks #network_science

📨 Contact us: @carimi
Download Telegram
What is emergence, after all?
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.04951

We hear the word #emergence a lot—in science, philosophy, even everyday conversation—but what does it really mean? In this perspective paper, we take a clear-eyed look at emergence as it manifests in real systems, ranging from flocking birds to magnets to herd immunity in social networks. We explain how complex behaviors and patterns can emerge from simple parts interacting locally, and why these large-scale phenomena often can’t be easily understood just by looking at the pieces alone. Instead of getting lost in buzzwords, we break down the idea using concrete examples, showing that emergence isn’t magic—it’s measurable, physical, and beneficial for making sense of the multi-layered complex world we live in.
👍6
Strength and weakness of disease-induced herd immunity in networks
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2421460122

What if #herd_immunity isn’t just about how many people are immune, but how they’re 'spatially' connected? Our new PNAS paper explores this concept. We show how the topology and geometry of social networks influence the dynamics of herd immunity, whether it arises from infection or #vaccination.

Here is a less technical blog post for a more general reader: abbas.sitpor.org/2025/07/10/the-spatial-puzzle-of-herd-immunity
👍3
Complex Systems Studies
Strength and weakness of disease-induced herd immunity in networks https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2421460122 What if #herd_immunity isn’t just about how many people are immune, but how they’re 'spatially' connected? Our new PNAS paper explores this…
Audio
Strength and Weakness of Disease-induced Herd Immunity in Networks

During the COVID-19 pandemic, several studies suggested that the spread of infection might induce herd immunity more easily than previously thought due to population heterogeneity. However, these studies relied on differential equation-based epidemic models, which cannot account for correlations between individuals. We reexamine the effect of disease-induced herd immunity using individual-based contact network models. We find that herd immunity is weaker when such correlations are taken into account, so much so that the conclusions of the previous studies may be overturned. This effect is especially pronounced when the contact network is spatially embedded. Our results highlight the importance of considering network effects in policy decisions that affect the lives and well-being of millions in future pandemics.

Generated by Google NotebookLM