New Mathematical Method May Help Tame Big Data

Social networks are permeating society, enabling grass root organization methods to sway public opinion worldwide. But how do these networks form and prosper--now mathematicians seek the answer in algorithms. Look for increasing scrutiny of the whys and wherefores of social networks throughout the decade. R.C.J.


Here's what the university says about its own work: Networks permeate modern life, from Facebook to political allegiances. Now University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill mathematicians and colleagues have developed a new technique for examining networks to help identify patterns and see how connections evolve. One of the most prominent areas of network science is the study of what’s called the “community structure” of a network. But until now, key methods could only detect “communities” (well-connected groups of nodes) in networks that don’t change over time and only have one type of connection. Of course, most networks in real life are more complicated, but this new technique offers the ability to examine networks that vary over time and have multiple kinds of connections...
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