Joshua M. Epstein, Robert L. Axtell (Contributor)

Growing Artificial Societies: Social Science from the Bottom Up (Complex Adaptive Systems)

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ISBN 13:
9780262550253
author:
Joshua M. Epstein, Robert L. Axtell (Contributor)
format:
Paperback
publisher:
Brookings Institution Press
language:
English
Publication Year:
1996
Pages:
226
Dimensions:
15.2 x 1.3 x 22.6 cm
Genre:
Society, Politics & Philosophy, Social Science
Condition:
New
Availability:
Item usually sent within 5 working days
£37.08

Description

Growing Artificial Societies: Social Science from the Bottom Up explores how social structures and group behaviors emerge from individual interactions. This groundbreaking study uses cutting-edge computer simulation techniques to model collective behaviors such as group formation, cultural transmission, and trade.

The authors' computer program, Sugarscape, simulates the behavior of artificial people (agents) on a landscape with a generalized resource (sugar). Agents follow simple local rules, which govern their movement and interaction. This leads to a remarkable range of social phenomena, including migration, hibernation, and the emergence of spatially segregated tribes.

The book presents a novel approach to understanding social science, beginning from the bottom up with a focus on individual interactions and collective behaviors. By examining how these behaviors arise from simple local rules, Epstein and Axtell shed new light on fundamental questions in sociology and political science.

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