1968 vs 2024

As we know, the last few days, have been tough times for certain groups of students at our universities. The groups have rioted, were then arrested by police, and then been handcuffed and led away to jail.

Mass arrests among students are quite special since such events are extremely rare. Examples of a such events happen in 1968—over 56 years ago. This was the so called Vietnam War riots that were famous when students demonstrated against the it.

2024

The riots today at some of our best places for education have been compared to those from previous times—such as the 1968 ones for example. See here and here.

1968 Again?

Is today, 2024, another 1968? Our key point is it is not:

While both times have had riots of students at university campuses we believe that today is fundamentally different.

How do 1968 and 2024 differ? We feel that understanding how they are really different, and how it yields insights should help us see how we can change the responses. This should help us do a better job handling the fundamental problems today. See here.

Differences

We are math oriented here—we are not experts on history nor on current events. But our viewpoint is that the structure of 1968 and 2024 cases reveals important insights. We hope you agree:

Case 1968: Here the parties that are against each other is simple. It’s the police and the protesters. So we note that we can call this the case when n=2. Here n measures the number of coherent groups involved.

Case 2024: Here the parties that are against each other is more complex. It’s the police against the two types of protesters: the pro Palestine and the pro Israel. So we note that we can call this the case when n=3.

When a parameter n varies from n=2 to n=3 a problem change in a basic manner. When the fundamental objects vary in number—especially from 2 to 3 all changes. Sometimes problems stop having simple solutions; or they stop having solutions at all. This is the case when its the two, and then the three

Two vs Three Body Problems

Do you think the view of 1968 being different from 2024 is related to the two vs three body problems? I think it explains to some degree why things seem to be much more complex today. If you agree does it yield a helpful view? Or is it completely silly? I think that it helps me understand why things today are more tricky? Do some of you agree?

Open Problems

I must end with that Kathryn Farley–my dear wife—and I have spent whole evenings watching the terrible events as they unfolded on TV. We are so happy that for all the tough times as far as we know no one has been hurt in any serious way. The biggest issue seems to be the cancelling of classes and graduation. We hope that it gets no worse in the future.

We hope that times improve and become quieter in the future. All stay safe.