A coupe of mathematicians have come up with what is arguably the best use of network science yet.
Associate professor of mathematics, Andrew J. Beveridge and student Jie Shan have used the advanced discipline to solve the question on everyone’s lips – who is the real main character in Game of Thrones?
The pair’s Network of Thrones research has revealed that the answer lies somewhere between Tyrion Lannister, the possibly dead Jon Snow, and Sansa Stark.
We can probably agree that isn’t massively surprising, however the maths behind it is seriously impressive.
According to The Daily Dot:
Network science is a branch of applied graph theory that brings together traditions from many disciplines including sociology, economics, physics, computer science, and mathematics.
Beveridge and Shan based their cast on the third Game of Thrones novel A Storm of Swords and calculated their findings by working out each character’s ‘clout’.
They did this by analysing a series of factors including the number of connections they have, the interactions between those connections, and the level of importance their connected characters have.
Beveridge told digital news outlet Quartz:
This is a fanciful application of network science. But it’s the kind of accessible application that shows what mathematics is all about, which is finding and explaining patterns.
Well it can’t be Jon Snow now can it…
