Heterophilious Dynamics Enhances Consensus

We review a general class of models for self-organized dynamics based on alignment. The dynamics of such systems is governed solely by interactions among individuals or “agents,” with the tendency to adjust to their “environmental averages.” This, in turn, leads to the formation of clusters, e.g., colonies of ants, flocks of birds, parties of people, rendezvous in mobile networks, etc. A natural question which arises in this context is to ask...