Book History and Media Studies - Colloquium with Michael Gavin

 

From: Thursday, March 06, 2014, 05:30pm

To: Thursday, March 06, 2014,

Artificial Data: Social Simulation and the History of Books

In my talk, I will discuss agent-based simulation, complex-systems theory, and the philosophy of (book) history. The past 15 years have witnessed a sharp increase in various forms of computational modeling. The simulation of complex systems, in particular, has been popularized by the availability of the software system NetLogo, which provides a simple and easy-to-learn programming environment for researchers. Particularly well suited for the simulation of complex systems like markets and ecologies, agent-based models replicate social structures in silico and subject them to experimental observation. What relationship, if any, do facts generated in a simulation have to facts observed in reality? How does the simulation of the past represent our knowledge of the past? Lastly, what happens when we give our models of the book trade a new spark of algorithmic life?

Location

Murray Hall
510 George Street
New Brunswick, NJ, 08901

Contact 

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Events sponsored by the Center for Cultural Analysis are free and open to the public, unless specifically noted