Computational Modelling Group

Seminar  17th March 2010 4 p.m.  B16 / Rm2025

Social dynamics of complex networks

Tom Lenaerts
VUB Brussels

Web page
http://www.ulb.ac.be/di/map/tlenaert/Home_Tom_Lenaerts/Evolution/Evolution.html
Categories
Ecology, Evolution, Evolutionary Algorithms, Game Theory, Social Networks
Submitter
Richard Edwards

Networks capturing the interaction patterns in social, technological and biological domains change by the underlying dynamics of the same elements that are used to define their structure. At the same time the network structure influences the steady state behaviour of these elementary dynamical systems in a profound way. To analyze this interplay, our international group studies evolutionary game dynamics in complex (adaptive) networks, focussing on problems related to the evolution of cooperation in different social dilemmas. We have shown that the structure of the social network itself has a significant impact on the abundance of cooperators in different games. Additionally, we have demonstrated that adaptive networks may change what is known in well-mixed populations even further. After a quick introduction to the field of evolutionary game theory and social dilemmas, I will provide an overview of the results we have obtained both in static and dynamic networks.