Researchers who study belief dynamics often use analogies to understand and model the complex cognitive-social systems that underlie why we believe the things we do and how those beliefs can change over time. Ideas can be transmitted like a virus, for instance, 'infecting' a population as they spread from person to person. We might be drawn -- like magnets -- to others with a similar worldview. A society's beliefs can shift slowly before reaching a tipping point that thrusts society into a new phase. A new article explores the benefits -- and potential pitfalls -- of several common analogies used to model belief dynamics.
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