Collective patterns and stable misunderstandings in networks striving for consensus without a common value system

Area of Science:

• Complex Systems
• Social Dynamics
• Agent-Based Modeling

Background:

• Collective phenomena are key to understanding social, ecological, and biological systems.
• Existing models often assume shared understanding or a common truth, which is not always realistic.
• The emergence of consensus without a 'right' or 'wrong' framework remains an open question.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if collective consensus can emerge in systems where agents have only subjective perceptions.
• To explore a communication model that does not presuppose a definition of correctness.
• To analyze the impact of agent responsiveness on consensus formation.

Main Methods:

• Introduction of a novel agent-based model with subjective perceptions.
• Simulation of interacting agents with varying responsiveness to worldview changes.
• Analysis of communication dynamics and convention alignment.

Main Results:

• A transition is observed between an unordered phase (no communication) and an ordered phase (emerging shared signaling framework).
• Two types of convention-aligned clusters were identified: uniform conventions and 'stable misunderstandings' (compatible, differing conventions).
• Agent responsiveness is a critical parameter determining the system's phase.

Conclusions:

• Collective consensus and shared signaling frameworks can emerge without agents agreeing on objective truth.
• Subjective perceptions and compatible conventions can lead to functional collective behavior.
• The model provides insights into the formation of conventions in diverse systems.