|
How do social structures and group behaviours
arise from the interaction of individuals? Growing Artificial
Societies approaches this question using cutting-edge
computer simulation techniques. Fundamental collective behaviours
such as group formation, cultural transmission, combat,
and trade are seen to "emerge" from the interaction
of individual agents following a few simple rules.
In their model named Sugarscape, Epstein
and Axtell begin the development of a "bottom up"
social science that is capturing the attention of both researchers
and commentators.
Joshua M Epstein is a Senior Fellow at
the Brookings Institution and a member of the Santa Fe Institute.
He is an editor of the Princeton Press Studies in Complexity
book series and has taught Complex Systems at Princeton
and the Santa Fe Institute Summer School. His books include
Conventional Force Reductions: A Dynamic Assessment
(Brookings,1990), Measuring Military Power (Princeton
in 1984), and Nonlinear Dynamics, Mathematical Biology
and Social Science (Santa Fe Institute/Addison-Wesley,
forthcoming 1997).
Robert Axtell is a Research Associate
at the Brookings Institution and a member of the Santa Fe
Institute. He is the author of research papers on computing,
mathematical modeling, economic theory, and environmental
policy.
|
