Scientists Find ‘Law Of War’ That Predicts Attacks
(London Daily Telegraph)…Roger Highfield

…The European Consortium For Mathematics in Industry was told today that an international team has developed a physics-based theory describing the dynamics of insurgent group formation and attacks, which neatly explains the universal patterns observed in all modern wars and terrorism. The team is advising the United Nations, the Pentagon and Iraq.

The team told the meeting in University College London how it has taken advantage of the rise in amount of information available on conflicts, by filtering hundreds of online news sources and Government reports, and an emerging field, called complexity science.

"We use advanced computer simulations and mathematical models to create a plausible microscopic mechanism to explain the collective behaviour observed in a wide range of human conflict situations – from ongoing insurgent wars and terrorism, through to street-gangs and even online games," said Dr Gourley.

Added this post to a new "Top 10" category.   For context, see my weblog pages on leadership paradigm, complexity, prediction markets, and references to variation.