Heresy is scale free network, apparently

[fluffymark]

The condensed matter physics preprint archive has some very strange items on it.

The Medieval Inquisition: Scale-free Networks and the Suppression of Heresy

Authors: Paul Ormerod, Andrew Roach
Comments: 12 pages
Subj-class: Disordered Systems and Neural Networks; Statistical Mechanics

Qualitative evidence suggests that heresy within the medieval Catholic Church had many of the characteristics of a scale-free network. From the perspective of the Church, heresy can be seen as a virus. The virus persisted for long periods of time, breaking out again even when the Church believed it to have been eradicated. A principal mechanism of heresy was through a small number of individuals with very large numbers of social contacts. Initial attempts by the Inquisition to suppress the virus by general persecution, or even mass slaughtering, of populations thought to harbour the "disease" failed. Gradually, however, the Inquisition learned about the nature of the social networks by which heresy both spread and persisted. Eventually, a policy of targeting key individuals was implemented, which proved to be much more successful.

I must admit to being a bit baffled about the connection between catholic heresy and condensed matter, but it has all the makings of a wonderful sounding consipracy theory.

Comments

[davefish.livejournal.com]

That's an excellent paper! Thanks for pointing it out.

[fluffymark]

Does this make the Spanish Inquisition a valid model of the Internet?

[laumiere.livejournal.com]

Didn't you know? Heretics are made of condensed matter. That's why they burnt so well.

[fluffymark]

It's all so obvious now! Yes, they'd make a very good bonfire, wouldn't they? But wait - aren't heretics supposed to float on water? If they were made of condensed matter they'd sink very quickly.

Maybe they use antigravity?

Re:

[laumiere.livejournal.com]

Maybe they're like ducks in Monty Python and The Holy Grail

[fluffymark]

Ducks weigh the same as condensed matter and must therefore be heretics. :)

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

Probably a foamlike gel structure made of condensed matter, with an average density the same as a 'normal' person.

[fluffymark]

But theres no such thing as a `normal' person. Hence they'd be easy to spot, if they had exactly that density! I think we have the upperhand in this war now - we know their secret! :)

Re:

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

If we design something that hits them with a brick of known mass at a known velocity, then tracks their velocity after the impact, we will have an automatic heretic detector.

[fluffymark]

Wonderful! All we need to do is throw bricks at everyone. Yay! :)

I suppose the alternative is to come up with a device to shrink a suspected heretic and determine the size of black hole they eventually form. This method has the advantage that air resistance won't causes errors in the measurement process. The inquisition needs to be exact and very precise you see. Can't go making mistakes.

Re:

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

That's really cool, yes. And obviously where the condensed matter comes into it.

I think we've unravelled the conspiracy just nicely now.

Or...

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

The Catholic Church, in conjunction with the CIA, the Rand Corporation, Matt Groening and the Reverse Vampires, was trying to keep this secret:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2502755.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2502755.stm)

Re: Or...

[fluffymark]

Oh, that would just be someone summoning cthulhu from his sleep-home in Antarctica. Nothing to worry about. :)

Re: Or...

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's OK then.

My mistake.