In the days of my studies of international relations I studied the technique of a Dr. Bueno de Mesquita….he designed an algorithm that can be used to predict international events……he was tested by the CIA and others and his technique was about 90% accurate consistently…human prediction was a 50-50 at best.

I found it fascinating that an algorithm could be employed with such accuracy…..and now it appears that the US is trying this technique to try and predict the possibility of attack from ISIS…….

A new mathematical model aims to track the activity of Islamic State sympathizers online and determine when groups will turn from talk to action.

After Orlando and San Bernardino and Paris, there is new urgency to understand the signs that can precede acts of terrorism. And with the Islamic State’s prolific use of social media, terrorism experts and government agencies continually search for clues in posts and Twitter messages that appear to promote the militants’ cause.

A physicist may not seem like an obvious person to study such activity. But for months, Neil Johnson, a physicist at the University of Miami, led a team that created a mathematical model to sift order from the chaotic pro-terrorism online universe.

Source: Fighting ISIS With an Algorithm, Physicists Try to Predict Attacks – The New York Times

Some may find this a bit mundane and dry….but it is a new field that does show some possibilities…..if it can be as helpful as the algorithm of Dr, de Mesquita then there could be a major break through in the fight against ISIS.