I mentioned the Nature link on mentoring below, here's the link: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v447/n7146/pdf/447791a.pdf
Carl Tollander wrote: > Robert, > > The discussions earlier this week about the nature of explanation > yielded 2 notions about the necessity of historical contingency in > modeling. One referred to 'real historical data', that is, the > elements of the model reflect a sampling of some actual situation, and > can be explained as some abstract transformation between 2 historical > data points. The other referred to the idea of understanding the > historical situatedness of the modeling methodologies employed, such > that one can explain what one is doing and why. It's probably useful > to consider these as different kinds of explanation. > > I have not been reading JASSS lately, except when specific papers get > recommended, so can't comment on whether their reviewers are pushing > for greater validation against historical data. There was a > (humbling) article in the 14 June edition of Nature about mentoring > better reviewers . > > As to the methodology notion about explanation, there could be an idea > about the responsibility of authors to employ the history of their > methodologies when explaining their results across disciplinary or > research group silos. I've been reading Thurston ( > http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/math/pdf/9404/9404236v1.pdf ) about just how > difficult this can be (at least for mathematicians) and Corfield ( > http://www.dcorfield.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/HowMathematicians.pdf ) > about how research groups might formulate their methodologies and > programs so they can be effectively communicated. > > We might take JASSS to task for setting the bar too low, but to be > fair the problem may simply be that this kind of modeling is not far > enough along as a discipline for its practitioners to have the > training and expertise to do the latter kind of explanation. It may > also be that thus far it takes most of a given career to get any good > at it. In either case these are early days, and it seems to me there > is at least the hint of a path, if there is the will to build towards it. > > Carl > > Robert Holmes wrote: >> The latest issue of Journal of Artificial Societies and Simulation is >> available at http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/JASSS.html >> >> I dunno, after our discussions about the nature of explanation, >> reading JASSS left me thoroughly depressed. Want to guess how many >> papers compared their simulation results with real historic data? >> >> Robert >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> ============================================================ >> 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
