ABSTRACT: “WHEN ZOMBIES ATTACK: MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF AN OUTBREAK OF ZOMBIE INFECTION”

ABSTRACT: “WHEN ZOMBIES ATTACK: MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF AN OUTBREAK OF ZOMBIE INFECTION”

The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the flexibility of mathematical models and to prove that modelling can respond to a variety of biological challenges, including outbreaks of zombie infection. To prove this, five mathematical models were taken into consideration. The timescale in each of these models was short, so that the birth and death rates of humans could not influence the outcome of the equations. In addition to that, only humans were considered susceptible to zombie infection in all five models. The first three models conclude with the fact that a coexistence between humans and zombies is impossible, as this will eventually lead to the eradication of humans. According to the fourth model, in which the existence of a cure for zombiism is taken into consideration, humans would be able to survive in low numbers. Only the fifth model, which includes the factor of an impulsive eradication of zombies, would allow humans to survive the outbreak relatively undamaged. Though the scenario of a zombie outbreak is unrealistic, these findings can in real life be applied to examine the allegiance to political parties or diseases with dormant infection.

CAJ: Cyberwar Abstract

The purpose of my CAJ is for me to learn more about cyberwar and about  a potential threat to the future of human beings. In my CAJ I will not only try to cover famous cyber threats, but also the difficulties in defining recent cyberattacks as cyberwar and the probability of the future outbreak of a cyberwar. For getting more information on those topics, I read a lot about cyberwar in various scientific journals as well as on websites dedicated to cyber security and to technology in general, but I equally listened to TED talks on topics related to cyberwar. What I figured out so far is that a big difficulty in defining cyberwar is the fact that it is hard to track cyberattacks back to its source and that series of cyberattacks can only be considered an act of war if a nation is behind its operation. This further leads to the assumption that the outbreak of a cyberwar is highly unlikely. To further research these topics, I will attempt to find out more about the different forms of cyberattacks that could be used in cyberwar. I will equally try to research theories about the potential risk of a cyberwar outbreak.