Spatial structure and information transfer in visual networks

In human and animal groups, social interactions often rely on the transmission of information via visual observation of the behavior of others. These visual interactions are governed by the laws of physics and sensory limits. Individuals appear smaller when far away and thus become harder to detect visually, while close by neighbors tend to occlude large areas of the visual field and block out interactions with individuals behind them. Here, we systematically study the effect of a group's spatial structure, its density as well as polarization and aspect ratio of the physical bodies, on the properties of the visual interaction network. In such a network individuals are connected if they can see each other as opposed to other interaction models such as metric or topological networks that omit these limitations due to the individual's physical bodies. We study the effect that spatial configuration has on the static properties of these networks as well as its influence on the transmission of information or behaviors which we investigate via two generic models of social contagion. We expect our work to have implications for the study of animal groups, where it could inform the study of functional benefits of different macroscopic states. It may also be applicable to the construction of robotic swarms communicating via vision or for understanding the spread of panics in human crowds

The Aesthetic Self. The Importance of Aesthetic Taste in Music and Art for Our Perceived Identity

To what extent do aesthetic taste and our interest in the arts constitute who we are? In this paper, we present a series of empirical findings that suggest an Aesthetic Self Effect supporting the claim that our aesthetic engagements are a central component of our identity. Counterfactual changes in aesthetic preferences, for example, moving from liking classical music to liking pop, are perceived as altering us as a person. The Aesthetic Self Effect is as strong as the impact of moral changes, such as altering political partisanship or religious orientation, and significantly stronger than for other categories of taste, such as food preferences (Study 1). Using a multidimensional scaling technique to map perceived aesthetic similarities among musical genres, we determined that aesthetic distances between genres correlate highly with the perceived difference in identity (Study 2). Further studies generalize the Aesthetic Self Effect beyond the musical domain: general changes in visual art preferences, for example from more traditional to abstract art, also elicited a strong Self Effect (Study 3). Exploring the breadth of this effect we also found an Anaesthetic Self Effect. That is, hypothetical changes from aesthetic indifference to caring about music, art, or beauty are judged to have a significant impact on identity. This effect on identity is stronger for aesthetic fields compared to leisure activities, such as hiking or playing video games (Study 4). Across our studies, the Anaesthetic Self Effect turns out to be stronger than the Aesthetic Self Effect. Taken together, we found evidence for a link between aesthetics and identity: we are aesthetic selves. When our tastes in music and the arts or our aesthetic interests change we take these to be transformative changes.Peer Reviewe

Wochenbericht zur hitzebedingten Mortalität KW 38

Hitzeperioden führen in Deutschland regelmäßig zu einem Anstieg der Mortalität. Um über die aktuelle Lage in Deutschland zu informieren, wird dieser Bericht während des Sommers 2023 (Juni-September) wöchentlich aktualisiert. Der aktuelle Bericht umfasst Schätzungen der hitzebedingten Sterbefälle im Zeitraum der Kalenderwochen (KW) 15 bis 38/2023

Wochenbericht zur hitzebedingten Mortalität KW 35

Hitzeperioden führen in Deutschland regelmäßig zu einem Anstieg der Mortalität. Um über die aktuelle Lage in Deutschland zu informieren, wird dieser Bericht während des Sommers 2023 (Juni-September) wöchentlich aktualisiert. Der aktuelle Bericht umfasst Schätzungen der hitzebedingten Sterbefälle im Zeitraum der Kalenderwochen (KW) 15 bis 35/2023