Re: of possible interest for agent-based modelling

[Alex Lancaster]

>>>>> "CL" == Chris Landauer <address@hidden> writes:

CL> hello, all -

CL> i thought this note might be of interest in the light of repeated
CL> questions and discussion here about the merits of agent-based
CL> modeling (see especially the last paragraph - i have not yet read
CL> the essay, but i am about to work on finding it) - i included the
CL> rest of the message for context

[...]

CL> On beyond 1st Foundation, the Killer B's (Benford, Bear, Brin) 2nd
CL> Foundation Trilogy embraces all that has gone before in a fine
CL> essay of the relative merits of forecasting by 'systems modeling'
CL> vs by 'agent- based modeling'.

Hmm, I read the first novel in the Second Foundation Trilogy (by
Gregory Benford), which alludes to forecasting without mentioning
agent-based modelling specifically, although he does allude to the
problem of "reflection" in modelling human societies, i.e. humans that
are all running their own internal models of that society (what we
here in Swarm-land might term "Swarms of Swarms").

Has anybody read the latter two (by Bear and Brin)? and if so, do they
further illuminate the "agent-based" v. "systems modelling" (meaning,
I assume more conventional "differential equation"-based modelling)?
I may have to visit my local library soon...

As to the parallels with bin Laden's "Al Qaeda" and Asimov's
"Foundation", they certainly end quickly upon inspection.  Salvor
Hardin's (the first mayor of Terminus, the capital of the new
Foundation), standard phrase is "violence is the last refuge of the
incompetent".

Alex
-- 
   Alex Lancaster * <address@hidden> * www.santafe.edu/~alex 
Dept. of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley (ib.berkeley.edu) * +1 510 642-1233
    & Swarm Development Group, Santa Fe, New Mexico (www.swarm.org) 


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