[p2p-research] The Medieval inquisition: scale-free networks and the suppression of heresy

[Michel Bauwens]

Dear Ignacio: could this be something you could cover for the p2p blog?

thanks for considering it,

Michel

http://llacolen.ciencias.uchile.cl/~vmunoz/download/papers/or04.pdf

The Medieval inquisition: scale-free networks and the suppression of heresy

By Paul Ormeroda and Andrew P. Roach

Physica A 339 (2004)

Abstract: Qualitative evidence suggests that heresy within the medieval
Church had many of the characteristics of a scale-free network. From the
perspective of the Church, heresy can be seen as an infectious disease. The
disease persisted for long periods of time, breaking out again even when the
Church believed it to have been eradicated. A principal mechanism of heresy
was through a small number of individuals with very large numbers of social
contacts.

Initial attempts by the inquisition to suppress heresy by general
persecution, or even mass slaughter, of populations thought to harbour the
‘disease’ failed. Gradually, however, inquisitors learnedabout the nature of
the social networks by which heresy both spreadandpersisted . Eventually, a
policy of targeting key individuals was implemented, which proved to be much
more successful.

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