4,480 research outputs found
Agent-Based Modeling: The Right Mathematics for the Social Sciences?
This study provides a basic introduction to agent-based modeling (ABM) as a powerful blend of classical and constructive mathematics, with a primary focus on its applicability for social science research.ďż˝ The typical goals of ABM social science researchers are discussed along with the culture-dish nature of their computer experiments. The applicability of ABM for science more generally is also considered, with special attention to physics. Finally, two distinct types of ABM applications are summarized in order to illustrate concretely the duality of ABM: Real-world systems can not only be simulated with verisimilitude using ABM; they can also be efficiently and robustly designed and constructed on the basis of ABM principles. ďż˝
Apperceptive patterning: Artefaction, extensional beliefs and cognitive scaffolding
In âPsychopower and Ordinary Madnessâ my ambition, as it relates to Bernard Stieglerâs recent literature, was twofold: 1) critiquing Stieglerâs work on exosomatization and artefactual posthumanismâor, more specifically, nonhumanismâto problematize approaches to media archaeology that rely upon technical exteriorization; 2) challenging how Stiegler engages with Giuseppe Longo and Francis Baillyâs conception of negative entropy. These efforts were directed by a prevalent techno-cultural qualifier: the rise of Synthetic Intelligence (including neural nets, deep learning, predictive processing and Bayesian models of cognition). This paper continues this project but first directs a critical analytic lens at the Derridean practice of the ontologization of grammatization from which Stiegler emerges while also distinguishing how metalanguages operate in relation to object-oriented environmental interaction by way of inferentialism. Stalking continental (Kapp, Simondon, Leroi-Gourhan, etc.) and analytic traditions (e.g., Carnap, Chalmers, Clark, Sutton, Novaes, etc.), we move from artefacts to AI and Predictive Processing so as to link theories related to technicity with philosophy of mind. Simultaneously drawing forth Robert Brandomâs conceptualization of the roles that commitments play in retrospectively reconstructing the social experiences that lead to our endorsement(s) of norms, we compliment this account with Reza Negarestaniâs deprivatized account of intelligence while analyzing the equipollent role between language and media (both digital and analog)
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Model granularity and related concepts
Models are integral to engineering design and basis for many decisions. Therefore, it is necessary to comprehend how a modelâs properties might influence its behaviour. Model granularity is an important property but has so far only received limited attention. The terminology used to describe granularity and related phenomena varies and pertinent concepts are distributed across communities. This article positions granularity in the theoretical background of models, collects formal definitions for relevant terms from a range of communities and discusses the implications for engineering design
Why Philosophers Should Care About Computational Complexity
One might think that, once we know something is computable, how efficiently
it can be computed is a practical question with little further philosophical
importance. In this essay, I offer a detailed case that one would be wrong. In
particular, I argue that computational complexity theory---the field that
studies the resources (such as time, space, and randomness) needed to solve
computational problems---leads to new perspectives on the nature of
mathematical knowledge, the strong AI debate, computationalism, the problem of
logical omniscience, Hume's problem of induction, Goodman's grue riddle, the
foundations of quantum mechanics, economic rationality, closed timelike curves,
and several other topics of philosophical interest. I end by discussing aspects
of complexity theory itself that could benefit from philosophical analysis.Comment: 58 pages, to appear in "Computability: G\"odel, Turing, Church, and
beyond," MIT Press, 2012. Some minor clarifications and corrections; new
references adde
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