Abstract
We consider a model of language development, known as the naming game, in which agents invent, share and then select descriptive words for a single object, in such a way as to promote local consensus. When formulated on a finite and connected graph, a global consensus eventually emerges in which all agents use a common unique word. Previous numerical studies of the model on the complete graph with $n$ agents suggest that when no words initially exist, the time to consensus is of order $n^{1/2}$, assuming each agent speaks at a constant rate. We show rigorously that the time to consensus is at least $n^{1/2-o(1)}$, and that it is at most constant times $\log n$ when only two words remain. In order to do so we develop some useful estimates for semimartingales with bounded jumps.
Citation
Eric Foxall. "The naming game on the complete graph." Electron. J. Probab. 23 1 - 42, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1214/18-EJP250