When it comes to
analyzing human behavior, there are often two conflicting views –
one which says human behavior can be measured and is predictable by
analyzing the patterns of choices they make, and other that contends
that human behavior is quite complex to fit into one segment. R.
Duncan Luce, a renowned mathematician, psychologist, and author
definitely occupies a prominent place in the first camp.
Author of best
sellers like Individual Choice Behavior (1959) and Games and
Decisions (1957), Prof. Luce amalgamated both the fields of
Mathematics and Psychology to create solid foundations in the fields
of game theory and social network analysis. 'A method of matrix
analysis of group structure', a 1949 article co-authored by Prof.
Luce and A. Perry in Psychometrika, lays foundations in understanding
the group dynamics and formally defines the term 'Cliques'. Though
Prof. Luce's mathematical definition of clique, involving “a
subgraph in which every vertex is adjacent to
every other vertex”,
has its fair share of critiques,
his contribution led to the fine tuning of Social Network Analysis as
we know it. He also left and indelible imprint in the field of
mathematical psychology.
A prolific writer,
Prof. Luce (1925-2012), co-edited 11 volumes of hand book of
Mathematical Psychology and published more than 250 papers both
academic and journalistic. He got his Ph.D. in mathematics from MIT
in 1950.
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