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technology
Alice
How Nodes Represent
Carl
Relationships Between
Members in a Cell: >>> In this demonstration,
Bob is the subordinate to
Alice and Carl.
Bob
Bob
Alice Bob Carl <<< In this demonstration,
Bob is the boss to Alice and
Carl.
Alice Carl
46 stanford scientific
engineering
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where Pr = probability, G = terrorist cell, k = captured members, and n = total number of members
leaders and footsoldiers, do nodes become isolated and the On the Spotlight
cell more likely to be deactivated. The collections of nodes Farley graduated summa
that intersect every maximal chain are cut sets. Lattice cum laude from Harvard
University in 1991,
theory can be used to calculate the probability that a cell has
later receiving the 2004
been destroyed by mapping out cut sets. Harvard Foundation’s
By using Farley’s research on terrorist lattices, law Distinguished Scientist
enforcement would be better able to allocate resources for of the Year Award, and
counterterrorism strategies. Instead of spending enormous graduated with a doctorate
amounts of manpower trying to capture as many terrorists as from Oxford University in
possible, law enforcement could use a mathematical strategy 1995, where a year earlier
of capturing as many as leaders as possible in order to break he had received its highest
the chains of command. mathematics award. From
2001-2002, he was one of
Photo Credit: Dr. Jonathan Farley
only four American Fulbright
Safe Guessing Distinguished Scholars to Farley is professor in the Department of
As with all mathematical models, there are expected the United Kingdom. His
Mathematics and Computer Science at
shortcomings. Are terrorist cells hierarchical? What the University of the West Indies, Jamaica,
accomplishments in the and former fellow of Stanford’s Center for
about lone actors? This model, according to Farley, does field of lattice theory include International Security and Cooperation
not “accurately describe reality; this is merely better than solving several problems
guessing.” It is meant to help those in positions of power that have remained unsolved for many decades, including a problem in
make better informed decisions about counter-strategies. transversal theory. He is the co-founder of Hollywood Math and Science
It is not a net with which to catch terrorists. The NAACP’s Consulting and has written and been featured in several major American
and British publications such as Time Magazine, The New York Times, The
Crisis Magazine quotes Farley as saying, “We’re creating
Guardian, Crisis Magazine, and Jet. The City of Cambridge, Massachusetts
tools that enable decision makers to make more logical has officially declared March 19, 2004 to be “Dr. Jonathan David Farley
decisions rather than relying on intuition or guess work.” Day”.
The less reliance on guessing, the more lives and money can
be saved. S To Learn More
Visit the Mathematical Methods in Counterterrorism conference
QUANEISHA JENKINS is a fifth year senior majoring in Science, Technology, website: http://www.cmmc2006.org
and Society, focus in Management Science and Engineering, double
minors in Afro-American Studies and Classics. She works for the Read Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Breaking Al Qaeda Cells: A
Women’s Community Center and the Stanford Center for Professional Mathematical Analysis of Counterterrorism Operations (A Guide for
Development. Risk Assessment and Decision Making) by Jonathan David Farley