"what Axelrod's model gives us, which is really sort of fascinating, is, he makes this assumption that says: We've all got these traits. We look to our neighbors. If they're like us, we tend to interact with them. If they're not like us, we tend not to. And what he ends up getting is these distinct cultures with thick boundaries. And these thick boundaries means vast differences between the cultures. Now the thick boundaries emerge because of the fact that if there weren't a thick boundary, then what would happen is, I would interact with that person and would become more similar, and the boundary would disappear. So Axelrod's model shows how in a social space, we can get distinct cultures on multi dimensions, and those boundaries can be self-reinforcing. People don't interact across the boundaries, and the cultures remain disparate. "- Transcript from Scott Page Coursera
Scott Page Model Thinking MOOC Course