We like to nerd out pretty hard at Hawkes, and when something involves Game of Thrones AND math…well, we need to know about it. This Quartz article shows how Macalester College’s Associate Professor of Mathematics Andrew J. Beveridge and undergraduate student Jie Shan used network science to identify the most important character in the popular book and TV series. Could this mean they’ve identified who will win the Iron Throne??
This whimsical application of network science is a great topic to get math students relating to the subject matter if they’re fans of the series. Just be careful! There are spoilers in the article, so make sure your students are up-to-date with the bloodbath that is Game of Thrones before you show it to them.
Beveridge, Andrew J. and Shan, Jie. Figure 2. 2016. Network of Thrones. Web. 1 April 2016.
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