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They also conducted experiments that tracked people’s eye movements and recorded their brain activity as they viewed sets of images—both in the lab and in a gallery. There was more stable integrative brain processing when people looked at real art versus pseudo-art, and the eye movements mapped neatly onto the previously identified topological features, suggesting a link between topologically derived image features, eye movement, and aesthetic experience. PLoS Computational Biology, 2026. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014156 . Political polarization is a phase transition Credit: Complexity Science Hub (CSH) Credit: Complexity Science Hub (CSH) It’s usually assumed that the candidate who spends the most has an electoral advantage, but physics suggests the reality is more complex. Scientists at the Complexity Science Hub (CSH) have found that political polarization behaves like a phase transition, according to a paper published in Physical Review Letters, marked by a critical campaign spending threshold. Below that threshold, social dynamics shape the outcome; exceeding that threshold deepens polarization without significantly increasing the margin of victory. The CSH team used a statistical physics model to examine bipartisan elections, specifically 6,357 House races (with just two main candidates) spanning 435 congressional districts and 21 election cycles (1980 to 2020). They found that the tipping point is $1.8 million at the district level. …