iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

But this is helpful. Makes me think I should write up this argument more formally 🤔

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Sure, but also not an issue space. Point is: Low-dimensional behavior doesn’t necessitate a low-dimensional issue space. There is also a simple argument to show that if any low-dimensional issue space warps in nonlinear ways under perturbation.

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Party != issue space In any case, most large parties are big coalitions with contradictory positions.

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Exactly. Low-dimensional outcomes are not indicative of an issue space. Interactions also break symmetries.

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Collective contributions to polarized voting

This is the holy grail and missing this is considered sinful to neglect (re: recent reviews). But it's a false target. In fact, this assumption isn't necessary to study collective properties of voting. arxiv.org/abs/2508.02496

arxiv.org

The crux of polarized voting in institutions like legislatures or courts is separation along a unidimensional ideological axis, but voting behavior is in reality more complex, with other signatures of...

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It's also misleading to try to connect different "sessions" of Congress directly to one another without accounting for this. One trick is to marginalize this out and to just look at voter-voter correlations (doi.org/10.1007/s109...).

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This is obviously a major problem for the dominant frameworks, where we imagine voters are twisting around on solid ground as they change preferences. But the world is changing too! So this picture is misleading. The ground is flat only (!) if you allow for the dimensions of your space to change.

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There's no fixed issue space. In fact, the axes of this low-dimensional issue space are being warped in nonlinear ways! Not only are the set of topics changing, but the ground is warping, melting, and folding all around you.

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Issue space is a low-dimensional mapping of a much larger space of objects, i.e., beliefs, interests, culture, etc. The full set of things are being constantly regrouped and reweighted into new "issues"--think Republican party today versus 10 years ago.

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Why is political science so adamant that the "issue space" is fixed??? It doesn't have to be, and it's not. This is a central assumption of the spatial voting theory frameworks, and people still cling onto it today. See Martin & Quinn and Poole & Rosenthal. 🧪🦋

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Delighted to be here today!

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This is overlooked even in current theory. Thus, in a strange sense, we are seeing a consequence of the myopia of neoclassical economics.

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Makes it clear that that the current US administration’s focus on diminishing institutions while “promoting” means of production is actually imposing substantial costs in terms of uncertainty.

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Reading Douglas North and the importance of transaction costs in economic activity, which has played no role in neoclassical theory. Yet, they are prominent in an exchange-based economy.

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Reposted by Eddie Lee

Complexity Science Hub @csh.ac.at · 15/09/2026

Because of their superior computing power, #chess computers always beat human players (even if you're Beth Harmon from Queen's Gambit)♟️But also style of play is different, finds a new study: chess engines handle game #complexity fundamentally differently 🧪 The paper: shorturl.at/H8uGo The thread 👇🧵

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Statistical mechanics ~= statistical learning The former aims for minimal complexity in representation, the latter maximal. Thus, one can formulate a statistical mechanics of learning, but not vice versa.

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

'This presents a fundamental challenge in strategic decision-making for both biological and artificial agents across diverse competitive and cooperative landscapes [1–3], of which war [4,5] and conflicts [6–8] are poignant examples.'

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

'The aphorism that one may have won the battle but lost the war is encapsulated in the notion of a “Pyrrhic victory.” Costly short-term gains must be balanced against the longer-term uncertainties, opportunities, or challenges that may emerge in competitive environments.' 🧪🦋 doi.org/10.1103/63cv...

doi.org

Artificial intelligence sustains higher strategic tension than humans in chess

In the study the authors use network analysis to reveal that artificial intelligence systems sustain significantly higher and longer-lasting strategic tension in chess compared to human grandmasters. ...

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Is DOGE still reviewing these?

Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

So being a professor means...spending 30 minutes to print a certificate of employment every two weeks...

Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

SNU workflow = admin bloat Get email in Korean -> translate copy -> navigate to website -> 2-factor login -> find form -> apply for doc to be issued -> pop-up fails -> install "security" software -> pop-up opens -> security software fails to find printer -> take a screenshot -> uninstall software

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

In other news, #Seoul National takes faculty dental hygiene very seriously 😁 #facultylife

Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Come to Korea! I’ve heard of some initiatives to recruit foreign scientists here

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Nonlinearity strikes again!

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

The physics department has a new building. You will have to visit us.

Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

It’s official. The EPIC Lab’s new headquarters are at #Seoul National University’s Department of Physics & Astronomy as of this week. We’re recruiting graduate students! physics.snu.ac.kr/en/research-...

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Stanislaw Lem wrote a masterpiece about this possibility

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

I heard Harvard lost 75%, but maybe not all programs? Also drastic cuts at Brown, so this seems to be hitting unevenly.

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

This also means that exogenous factors may have little impact on migration rates until a critical threshold is reached. How such thresholds are shaped, what affects our proximity to them, and how to measure our distance to them are key questions, but ones that are too little considered. (4/5)

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

The resulting nonlinearity is characteristically different from treating individuals as reaching independent decisions, which can only lead to smooth changes in migration rates. (3/5)

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Namely, #migration becomes a #collective decision, which permits “tipping points,” or sudden transitions in the amount of migration. Such sudden change allows for intermittent spikes, waves, and cascades as high (or low) migration rates ripples out across many regions. (2/5)

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

NYT writes “Testing Truce.” Wouldn’t it be planner to write that the truce has been broken?

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Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

EPIC = Emergent Phenomena from Interactions & Constraints Read about us at eltrompetero.github.io (group website to be updated soon)

eltrompetero.github.io

Principles of Emergent Things

Eddie Lee @spintheory.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Get ready for something EPIC! Starting this fall at #Seoul National University, a new research group will be coalescing. *** For prospective int'l graduate students, apps for the PhD program are open July 6–9; rec letters due July 10. *** #physics #complex #complexity #phd #graduate

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A reminder of the appeal of chaos in this post-Enlightenment world.

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“The safety devices had been turned off. The diseases ran free. With luck, and hope, and love, I might live a thousand years. Or I might die tomorrow. I was free. We revelled in every moment of the day.”

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“Everywhere, things became exciting. Everywhere, men and women worked with a wild will to build a more imperfect world.”

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