[SKRIVA] Social Text Analysis of Viking Sagas
- From: Ahrvid Engholm <ahrvid@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "fictionmags@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <fictionmags@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "skriva@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <skriva@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 4 Oct 2013 22:34:50 +0200
This is interesting. Computer analysis of social relations in old Viking Sagas
reveals a more complex life than previously thought...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2443745/The-violent-Vikings-Saga-research-reveals-warriors-friendlier-previously-thought--flared-small-disputes.html
"The violent Vikings? Saga research reveals warriors were friendlier than
previously thought - but flared up over small disputes
Mathematicians from Coventry University have uncovered complex social networks
within age-old sagas
The researchers carried out a detailed analysis of the relationships described
in ancient Icelandic manuscripts using a quantitative method
Found the overall network of saga society is consistent with real social
networks and the 'six degrees of separation' applied to Viking communities
Most people think of the Vikings as bloodthirsty warriors who pillaged
villages, but academics have used literature to challenge sterotypical views.
Mathematicians have uncovered complex social networks within age-old
Icelandic sagas using a quantitative approach to find that there was more to
Viking society than waging war.
They carried out a detailed analysis of the relationships described in
ancient Icelandic manuscripts to shed new light on Viking society. Pádraig Mac
Carron and Ralph Kenna from Coventry University, set out on a quest to question
whether remnants of reality could lurk within the pages of the documents in
which Viking sagas were preserved.
They used complex mathematical methods including looking at the clustering of
characters and their interactions to find that much like in our modern society,
the 'six degrees of separation' applied across communities.
They applied methods from statistical physics to social networks, in which
nodes (connection points) represent individuals and links represent
interactions between them, to hone in on the relationships between the
characters and societies depicted therein."
The Viking sagas as the sort of Facebook of its time. Who would have thought!
--Ahrvid
Ps. CC: to the SKRIVA list too.
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