Flock Theory - A New Model of Emergent Self-Organization in Human Interaction

Flock Theory 23 The transition from simulations to human interaction has been limited and for the most part unsuccessful. So the problem remains, how can emergent human interaction be measured without sacrificing macro approaches? The solution may be in the analysis of online interaction and comparing the results with similar face-to-face interaction. The main difference is that in online situation the individuals have “perfect� information, in that each person has access to the exact same information as everyone else. Where in interpersonal settings there is substantial nonverbal action as well as assumptions of character.

Since there has been investigation into the substantive elements of emergence, the conceptual relations are still somewhat understood. However, there is still a gap in an analytical method of analysis. Flock theory poses a potential outlet for this hurdle, and thus may indeed expand our knowledge of human cooperative interaction, and the proposed methods offer a unique window into this interaction.

Given the similar nature of emergent systems, as they follow a similar set of rules, there remains potential for implications of Flock Theory to be largely generalizable. This is not limited to communication, for many social sciences suffer from reductionistic problems.

Likewise, a deeper understanding of the relations in emergent situations can be extended to the natural sciences as well as artificial simulations.

As discussed in the review of the emergence literature, there is a fundamental gap in social scientific theory and research as a result of the dominance of reductionistic thought. This gap comes in response to the continued attempt to replicate the validity and overall success of the natural sciences. However, the nature of social science is that the main unit of analysis is social behavior, which is inherently non-reductionist in that there is no social if the unit of analysis is