CENTER FOR APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND THEORETICAL PHYSICS
UNIVERZA V MARIBORU UNIVERSITY OF MARIBOR
KREKOVA 2 SI-2000 MARIBOR SLOVENIA
Phone +(386) (2) 2355 350 and 2355 351 $\bullet$ Fax +(386) (2) 2355 360
Robnik@uni-mb.si $\bullet$ www.camtp.uni-mb.si
PROF.DR. MARKO ROBNIK, DIRECTOR

Seminarsko predavanje
Centra za uporabno matematiko in teoretično fiziko

On the origin of the gap between rich and poor, and what does it now mean for the evolution of cooperation between unrelated individuals

Doc.Dr. Matjaž Perc
Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
University of Maribor

Abstract: The widening gap between rich and poor is often painfully obvious from everyday news. But how did we get this far? Physicists have recently made interesting contributions to enlighten the situation. Methods of non-equilibrium statistical physics applied in the context of evolutionary game theory indicate that social diversity is indeed beneficial for the evolution of cooperation $[1]$, and that highly heterogeneous social states may appear spontaneously via very simple coevolutionary rules from an initially completely non-preferential setup $[2]$. In essence, the findings convey the potentially disturbing message that large differences in status may arise spontaneously, and although they might evoke discomfort within the majority that is disprivileged, they are vital for keeping the population in a cooperative state. References: $[1]$ Perc M and Szolnoki A 2008 Phys. Rev. E 77 011904; $[2]$ Szolnoki A and Perc M 2008 New J. Phys. 10 043036. Contact: matjaz.perc@uni-mb.si; http://matjazperc.com/

Seminarsko predavanje (v angleškem jeziku) bo v četrtek 25. septembra 2008 ob 15:15 uri v seminarski sobi CAMTP na Krekovi 2, pritličje desno. Vljudno vabljeni vsi zainteresirani, tudi študentje.

Prof.Dr. Marko Robnik
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