Nick Thompson may deny being a proper "social psychologist" but he certainly hung about with social psychologists for enough years that his remarks on such matters as "cognitive biases and group think"--should he choose to make any--would be well worth attending to (if only to determine a basepoint for subsequent jeering). And his admitted expertise in ethology and primatology might be apposite too.
So pipe up, Nick. Lee Rudolph On 23 Mar 2010 at 10:32, Ted Carmichael wrote: > That actually sounds cool. There's probably a lot of potential to work on > stuff that includes cognitive biases and group think and such. You ever > read Richard Feynman's take on the Challenger disaster? Might be a good > reference for you ... probably, you can find it in one of his books, where > he talks about it at length. It's an interesting story in and of itself. > > Have fun! > > -Ted > > On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 12:22 AM, Vladimyr Ivan Burachynsky <[email protected] > > wrote: > > > Thanks for the responses and the advice, I hope to work my way through > > the unusual protocols. I am trying to reply to Stephen Thompson and Ted > > Carmichael. > > > > I could not find a Reply button on the Friam newsgroup pages. > > > > > > > > You could say I have a pretty classic (Basic) background in Biology and > > Engineering. I have always been very uneasy with the concept of species and > > groups in general. > > > > I have run into a few examples in entomology that seem to bend the rules > > quite a bit and then there are the orchid hybrids that seem to make a > > mockery of speciation. > > > > > > > > I am interested in the phenomenon of "Group Thinking" Amusingly I dispute > > the existence of groups and thinking in this case. Perhaps the observer had > > an unintentional bias. I recently heard of a psychological situation > > referred to as the "Abilene Experiment" I hope I got it right. I would like > > to play with the agents to reproduce bizarre human social behavior. > > > > > > > > This may seem flaky but I would love to work with defective agents that > > appear externally normal. > > > > Coming from years of engineering work I am always amazed at the nature of > > accidents, complex system failures. Inevitably people seem to be at fault > > because they believed they were right at the wrong time. Even after an > > accident they insist some one else was to blame. Perfectly sane people > > believe in the most absurd ideas at the wrong time. It has made me suspect > > that there is a limit to how complex any system can get before it collapses, > > which has frightening implications. > > > > > > > > > > > > Well thanks gentlemen and I will report back on my progress with NetLogo. I > > must be the first ever to wish to program stupid autonomous agents! > > > > > > > > *Dr.Vladimyr Ivan Burachynsky* > > > > *Ph.D.(Civil Eng.), M.Sc.(Mech.Eng.), M.Sc.(Biology)* > > > > > > > > *120-1053 Beaverhill Blvd.* > > > > *Winnipeg, Manitoba* > > > > *CANADA R2J 3R2* > > > > *(204) 2548321 Phone/Fax* > > > > *[email protected]* <[email protected]> > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] *On > > Behalf Of *Stephen Thompson > > *Sent:* March 21, 2010 9:40 PM > > *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group > > *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] How to Begin? > > > > > > > > Vladimyr: > > > > I am a lurker on this site listening to interesting ideas. I recently > > started looking into > > agent-based systems. I started out with a Teaching Company lecture series > > entitled > > Understanding Complexity by Prof Scott Page. He is a visiting Prof at > > Sante Fe. > > The course is just introductory content without any computational > > exercises. > > (www.TeachingCompany.com) Its a great introduction to the field. Its a > > nice way > > pass the morning commute. > > > > Dr Page suggested the following books as well: > > > > > Agent-Based Models by Nigel Gilbert > > > Simulation for the Social Scientist by Nigel Gilbert and Klaus G > > Troitzsch > > > Complexity A Guided Tour by Melanie Mitchell > > > > I added another book Dr. Page was too modest to suggest: > > > Complex Adaptive Systems: An Into to Computational Models of Social > > Life. > > by John Miller and Scott Page. > > > > I also downloaded the NetLogo system, but as yet have not installed it. > > > > I recently came across a web-site by a regular member of this forum, > > Owen Densmore. Its at > > > > http://complexityworkshop.com/ > > > > I have not explored it yet. > > > > My background is in mortgage finance. Sorry nothing interesting like > > default > > swaps, just old fashioned commercial mortgage loans. I recently completed > > a > > degree in software engineering so I am looking forward to the programming > > aspects > > of agents. I do this on my own time, so I have been focusing on more of > > the > > background before I start the computational aspects. > > > > Steph T > > > > > > > > Ted Carmichael wrote: > > > > Hey, Vladimyr - > > > > > > > > I'm not in Santa Fe - I'm at UNC Charlotte, near the other coast - but I > > also work with complex systems and such. If you're not familiar with it, > > NetLogo is an excellent toolset for rapid prototyping of agent-based > > systems. They continually update it, it's free, and there's tons of > > support, so you can learn programming pretty easily in it. > > > > > > > > A good book might be M. Mitchell's newest: Complexity: A Guided Tour. Well > > written and thorough. Also, I always recommend Steve Johnson's Emergence: > > The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software. A little more > > towards the general audience, but some excellent examples of CAS. > > > > > > > > I'm sure others will have some good recommends as well. > > > > > > > > Good luck! > > > > -Ted > > > > On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 7:00 PM, Vladimyr Ivan Burachynsky < > > [email protected]> wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > I am interested in communicating with people already working with > > Complexity. > > > > As a scientist formerly working in epidemiology and more recently in > > robotics, I have become increasingly interested in Non-linear problems. > > > > Unfortunately my background is basically inappropriate and would like a > > little advice on how to get set up working with Autonomous Agents. > > > > Hopefully, some one can provide a little guidance. My background is rather > > complex and does include some programming efforts over the years but AA is > > a big leap from machine motion programs. Some day I may be able to make a > > significant contribution to the field using my few talents. > > > > > > > > I would like to travel to Santa Fe and listen in on your lecture series. > > > > Vladimyr > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > *Dr.Vladimyr Ivan Burachynsky* > > > > *Ph.D.(Civil Eng.), M.Sc.(Mech.Eng.), M.Sc.(Biology)* > > > > *120-1053 Beaverhill Blvd.* > > > > *Winnipeg, Manitoba* > > > > *CANADA R2J 3R2* > > > > *(204) 2548321 Phone/Fax* > > > > *[email protected]* <[email protected]> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ============================================================ > > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > > > > > ============================================================ > > > > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > > > > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > > > > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > > > > > > ============================================================ > > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > > > ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
