I'm teaching a graduate class called "Network Epistemology" this semester. As an experiment, I'm going to do a twitter thread each week about what we're reading and some general reactions to it.
(In order to remain on-brand, I'm already two weeks late with the first one.)
(In order to remain on-brand, I'm already two weeks late with the first one.)
The class is looking at how we learn in groups (in philosophy this is part of "social epistemology"). We are focusing on how the structure of communication and interaction influences how we learn, hence the "network" part.
"How we learn" is a tricky question because it can be analyzed at two different levels: the individual level and the social level. Does an individual get better? Does a group get better? How are these two concepts related?
One theme the course is: are people confronted with "epistemic social dilemmas?" Can individuals be smarter by making their group dumber (and vice versa)? If so, when does this happen and what can be done about it?
A second theme: the relationship between group learning and the rationality of its members. Are their settings where irrational individuals make for rational groups (and vice versa)?
The third theme is when are apparently "bad" ways of interaction actually good for the group. That is, when might it be good to reduce the flow of information? Or when might it be good to make someone more influential, even though they aren't special in anyway? Etc.
The material we are covering is very interdisciplinary: it includes social psychology, economics, philosophy, computer science, and sociology.
I'll tweet about how the first week went a little later, but if you have any thoughts for things we should cover, let me know! The class syllabus is evolving...
For those following along at home, here's a thread about week 1:
And here is the thread about week 2. Stay tuned later this week for week 3.
Here's week 3 about social influence and consensus in social networks:
And here's week 4 on Hong and Page's model of diversity:
Here's week 5 on searching in fitness landscapes:
And, here's week 6 on learning in stochastic environments:
Week 7 on misinformation and rumors
No virus will stop my social network. Week 8 went virtual, and here is the thread.
Week 9! On economic models of the formation of social networks (from a traditional, evolutionary, and experimental point of view).
