Researchers are studying how order theory – a branch of abstract mathematics that deals with hierarchical relationships – could be applied to the war on terror.

Terrorism is not just bombs and hostages, “Terrorism is a thinking man’s game,” said terror expert Gordon Woo.

Theoretically, abstract math could help figure out the most efficient way to disable a terrorist network. By pinpoiting a terrorist cell’s “middle management” rather than its leadership. Those one or two key individuals whose capture would completely cut off the chain of command.
Or by developing ways of reducing human decision-making to mathematical equations.

A striking example comes from a lab at Carnegie Mellon, that tries to simulate social groups and has built simulations of Hamas and al-Qaida by dumping publicly available information about them into a computer database. A program takes that information and looks for patterns and relationships between individuals, finds weak and strong figures, power brokers, hidden relationships and people with crucial skills.

Then another program can predict what would happen if a specific individual were removed. After Israel’s assassination of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in March, the program predicted he would be succeeded by hard-liner Abdel Azziz Rantisi.

This time, Hamas declined to reveal who had taken power for fear he too would be assassinated. But eventually it became known that Mashaal was indeed the one.

Via del.icio.us/mlewis iWon News.