Agents hold opinions in [0,1]. At each step a random pair interacts: if |x_i - x_j| < ε they converge by μ toward each other. Small ε → many clusters; large ε → single consensus. The confidence bound ε is the key bifurcation parameter.
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Critical ε ≈ 1/(2k) for k clusters (Deffuant 2000). Above ε≈0.5 near-consensus almost guaranteed. Trajectory plot shows opinion evolution; bottom panel shows final distribution.