The sudden emergence of witch trials in early modern Europe may have been fueled by one of humanity's most significant intellectual milestones: the invention of the printing press in 1450. A new study in Theory and Society shows that the printing of witch-hunting manuals, particularly the Malleus maleficarum in 1487, played a crucial role in spreading persecution across Europe. The study also highlights how trials in one city influenced others. This social influence — observing what neighbors were doing — played a key role in whether a city would adopt witch trials. “Cities weren’t making these decisions in isolation,” said Kerice Doten-Snitker, a Complexity Postdoctoral Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute and lead author of the study. “They were watching
