absolutely. the idea that realism is a legitimate (or perhaps the only ultimate) aim for a model leads directly to claims that the best models are new sources of cheap empirical data (selling real experimentalists down the river) and also that every other kind of model is by definition second rate.
August 25, 2025 at 6:04 PM
absolutely. the idea that realism is a legitimate (or perhaps the only ultimate) aim for a model leads directly to claims that the best models are new sources of cheap empirical data (selling real experimentalists down the river) and also that every other kind of model is by definition second rate.
yeah - relatedly, I bridle at appeals to "realism" in models in general. A model is not improved by giving it a realistic colour or smell - unless colour and smell are foregrounded by the theory that we're interested in.
So it's a theory that should guide model deisgn, not "realism" per se.
So it's a theory that should guide model deisgn, not "realism" per se.
August 25, 2025 at 5:55 PM
yeah - relatedly, I bridle at appeals to "realism" in models in general. A model is not improved by giving it a realistic colour or smell - unless colour and smell are foregrounded by the theory that we're interested in.
So it's a theory that should guide model deisgn, not "realism" per se.
So it's a theory that should guide model deisgn, not "realism" per se.
As part of the course, I'd like to include a range of opinions on AI from a few dozen people in #Bristol. So, if you live or work in Bristol, here's an anonymous 5-min questionnaire for you: forms.gle/JV9ZJp4FYmHQ...
Please give it a go, and share it with any Bristolians that you know! Thank you!
Please give it a go, and share it with any Bristolians that you know! Thank you!
Bristol's Opinions on AI
This is an anonymous poll for collecting opinions on AI from people in Bristol for potential use in an online course on AI being developed at the University that will be made available to the general ...
forms.gle
August 1, 2025 at 6:37 PM
As part of the course, I'd like to include a range of opinions on AI from a few dozen people in #Bristol. So, if you live or work in Bristol, here's an anonymous 5-min questionnaire for you: forms.gle/JV9ZJp4FYmHQ...
Please give it a go, and share it with any Bristolians that you know! Thank you!
Please give it a go, and share it with any Bristolians that you know! Thank you!
Another area (I always worry that I am talking about things you already know about) is the niche construction literature (people like Odling-Smee, Laland, Feldman). There the idea is that complex creatures have more opportunity to shape their environment in ways that protect them from perturbation.
June 5, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Another area (I always worry that I am talking about things you already know about) is the niche construction literature (people like Odling-Smee, Laland, Feldman). There the idea is that complex creatures have more opportunity to shape their environment in ways that protect them from perturbation.
exactly - I ran out of text in the last post, but yes these ecosystem papers are only really relevant if you consider a species to comprise a network of interacting co-dependent adaptations in a way that is analogous to an ecosystem comprising a network of interacting co-dependent species...
June 5, 2025 at 7:47 AM
exactly - I ran out of text in the last post, but yes these ecosystem papers are only really relevant if you consider a species to comprise a network of interacting co-dependent adaptations in a way that is analogous to an ecosystem comprising a network of interacting co-dependent species...
Maybe you are already aware of Robert May's classic "Will a large complex system be stable?" - and #Alife reactions to it by Ezequiel Di Paolo, Inman Harvey, Hywel Williams etc? eg www.academia.edu/98418804/Inc...
I think that you could extrapolate from this to claims about individual species too.
I think that you could extrapolate from this to claims about individual species too.
Increasing Complexity Can Increase Stability in a Self-Regulating Ecosystem
A long standing debate within ecology is to what extent ecosystem complexity and stability are related. Landmark theoretical studies claimed that the more complex an ecosystem, the more unstable it is...
www.academia.edu
June 4, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Maybe you are already aware of Robert May's classic "Will a large complex system be stable?" - and #Alife reactions to it by Ezequiel Di Paolo, Inman Harvey, Hywel Williams etc? eg www.academia.edu/98418804/Inc...
I think that you could extrapolate from this to claims about individual species too.
I think that you could extrapolate from this to claims about individual species too.
gliders is my favourite
May 12, 2025 at 7:40 AM
gliders is my favourite
Interesting. I suppose you have to "read" your examiners to see if they are "pushing you to get you to make your argument work against a critical opponent" or "talking it out with you to get to the bottom of things". I tend to do the latter, but I guess other examiners take the former approach.
February 24, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Interesting. I suppose you have to "read" your examiners to see if they are "pushing you to get you to make your argument work against a critical opponent" or "talking it out with you to get to the bottom of things". I tend to do the latter, but I guess other examiners take the former approach.