Professor Marcel Auslos is one of the world’s most cited researchers specializing in statistical physics. Last week he became an Honoris Causa Doctor of the ASE, I spoke to his Eminence about this.

answer: How does a researcher see the social changes we are witnessing? You grew up in a time when learning was much more difficult, when the internet didn’t exist, when intergenerational respect was sacrosanct… Now we seem to be witnessing a centrifugal, ongoing “racially correct” social trend where Jesus can be black, where such stories like Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs are banned because they offend certain social classes… How do you feel about all of this? Is this progress, regression, is there something to learn from this…?

The first answer: “terrible.” Another answer is “ridiculous.” And so on

… I often wonder if increasing complexity is a form of progress; “chosen” (but I may not be able to say “chosen” in today’s world) I believe that complexity does not necessarily mean progress.

This is why I “love” statistical physics and its applications; in this field of research, we simplify complexity by trying to reduce the number of descriptive (evolutionary) equations and the number of parameters to what we consider important; personally, I really appreciate the principle of Occam’s Razor, which says that if you have two competing ideas offered to explain a phenomenon, you should prefer the simpler explanation; of course, this requires assumptions about the “sample”, such as “universality”, “homogeneity”, etc.

However, this must be accompanied by great modesty or even humility – this is not a state of behavior that many people will practice. Of course, there are also limitations to our explanations, and we need to find an appropriate balance and respect other existing perspectives.

answer: We live in a bipolar world. I wonder how the US and the EU can resist China’s expanding influence. What do we individually learn from this crisis?

The US and the EU will not oppose Chinese PR; we must understand how we can adapt our way of life to other “philosophies”, to other ways of living. Although there are people who are happy when they are deprived of knowledge, when they are under strict control… We learn that freedom comes with responsibility.

answer: Will the crises we are witnessing lead to the progress or rather the retreat of populism?

We have so little faith in the classical leaders who keep telling us about “liberté, égalité, fraternité” etc., that we reduce our social network to tiny groups to avoid conflict and increase our satisfaction or happiness.

Read Huxley, Orwell, Kafka, Nietzsche, it doesn’t matter in which order you do it, and then think about where we are. Even if you want to cry afterwards.

Thanks to the explosion of artificial intelligence, it is difficult to guess what other socio-economic changes will soon follow, according to Professor Auslos.

His biggest fear right now? “My greatest fear comes from the rapidly declining welfare of our (Western) world, especially my family, children, grandchildren and those I will never know. Moreover, I believe that the bipolarization of the crowd will not be a fantasy… How will our descendants live? Will they be able to control their future? Will they become zombies? Who will lead them? .

I’m not a pessimist… let’s hope we can keep the world civilized and be happy with the way it is. For example, I try to share my knowledge and experience. Please do the same,” says the Belgian researcher

answer: For many people, crises such as pandemics, economic crises (perhaps recessions) cause panic among the public and companies, who immediately change (and often exaggerate) their response. Any advice for super reactors?

It is not easy to quell panic, both in individuals and in a crowd of people. Sometimes individuals and crowds do not listen to advice or recommendations. Prophets are often not admired or followed. Thus, one can react differently to the news; either positive or negative. This causes oscillations, and their correlations are the key to global behavior. It’s only when they get worse that they become a problem. “Discharge”. In statistics, an outlier is an “abnormal” data point that is significantly different from other observations.

People don’t want to lose, try to avoid mistakes and do what they learned in school. For example, we ordinary people, “financial dwarfs”, have no control over the behavior of large financial players. The main recommendation for us is to actively monitor investment developments. An unlikely behavior since we usually trust intermediaries. So my recommendation is based on a few tips: Never try to win too much because you might lose too much. Be active and proactive.

From a pandemic point of view, it is also quite difficult to avoid panic or overreaction, as we ordinary people (have to) follow what the politicians, the rulers, dictate. But they must have experience, although, unfortunately, incompetence is the main feature of many. And this can lead to failures and increased reactions

answer: If a 20-year-old guy came to you today and said he wanted to study statistical physics, what are the top 3 pieces of advice you would give him?

A friend, Claudio Herteliu, replied: “www.” It means “work, wife, wine.” Of course, Claudio was polite… But my advice is this: (i) choose the path that gives you the most satisfaction in life; (ii) Make as many best friends as possible. [Oricum, rivalii tăi vor spune doar lucruri rele despre tine] and (iii) strive for the best [dar fii pregătit să ai frustrări]. Don’t worry, enjoying multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity will make you a good humanist.

answer: What are your most important discoveries that made you not regret choosing this research path?

Tough question: Perhaps my invention of the Magnetic Heaven Model (MEM) and the construction of fractal surfaces should make me proud of my constructive and useful imagination. The paper discussing the tiny regions of different magnetic, crystallographic and electrical behavior of some ceramic materials also pleases me

answer: Have you also had academic failures? What were they like and how did you overcome the frustration they caused you?

Oh! Not necessarily in research, but rather in academic frustrations. I have several works that have not been accepted for publication by publishers. It is very sad; but originality is not always the most valuable. Then it’s a shame to see others pick up on your ideas. Or understand that there are many biases in the display of scientific output. What shall I do? You shrug your shoulders, try to comfort yourself – that’s my attitude to such things.

answer: You are an expert in a field that may seem completely inedible to many: statistical physics. If a 10-year-old asked you what applied statistical physics is, how would you explain it?

This is very difficult to explain, as it requires some intellectual maturity, perhaps greater than that of a 10-year-old; in particular, dictionary terms, specialized language… But in short, applied statistical physics uses (I use!) objective principles and reliable concepts, based on many observations, about systems consisting of many “things” that lead to simple and clear laws.

However, instead of following the classical discourse of “how do particles behave?”, “statistical physics” generalizes the concept of “particles” to represent any type of “agents”, “teams”, “ideas”. , “languages”, “religions”, “activities”.

We then look for behavioral similarities (or differences) and apply mathematics to describe the particles as if they were “things”. Thus, one can develop models, one can even dare to make predictions, as if “things” were “particles”.

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