In existographies, Peter Carter Dodd (c.1925-c.2000) is or was an American social scientist, possibly the son of Stuart Dodd, noted for []
Overview
In 1950, Dodd, at the, completed his 78-page BA senior thesis, presented to the School of Public and International Affairs, aka Woodrow Wilson School, at Princeton University, on “Social Physics: Theory and Application of Demographic Gravitation”, a precipitate, in some way, of Princeton Department of Social Physics (or Princeton social physics), which he abstracted by seven summary points; the first three of which are as follows: [1]
1. Social physics is based on an analogy, between molecules and men. It is suggested that, in the aggregate, human beings may behave according to much the same principles as physical bodies. This is a logically loose analogy, intended primarily for suggesting new concepts and stimulating investigation.
2. One of the first theories suggested is that of demographic gravitation (see: social gravitation), or the influence of people at a distance. Derived from this is the concept of mutual energy between two populations, which is given by the formula:
The population may be weighted if they are not approximately homogeneous.
3. The mutual energy of two populations seems to be related to a number of quite different indices: intercity communication, transportation, newspaper articles by place of origin, migration, check clearances, etc.
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References
1. Dodd, Peter C. (1950). “Social Physics: Theory and Application of Demographic Gravitation” (ΡΊ) (pdf), Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, Apr 20.
