The Birthday of Martin Luther (1483) – Mathematics of the Reformation

Martin Luther’s 95 Theses (1517) sparked the Reformation. The printing press allowed rapid dissemination – an information diffusion problem modelled by the Bass diffusion equation: dF/dt = (p + qF)(1 – F), where p is innovation coefficient, q imitation. Luther also translated the Bible into German, standardising the language. The mathematics of social change includes network theory (spread of ideas through influential nodes) and game theory (conversion as a strategic choice). The Reformation was a complex system that mathematics now models.