1 / 15

HONR 300/CMSC 491 Complexity

HONR 300/CMSC 491 Complexity. Prof. Marie desJardins, January 28, 2016. Course Topics. Reproduced from Gary Flake, The Computational Beauty of Nature , MIT Press, 1998. Topics. 1/26-2/9: 2/11-2/25: 3/1-3/10: 3/22: 3/24-3/29: 3/31-4/17: 4/12-4/19: 4/21-4/28: 5/3-5/??:.

Download Presentation

HONR 300/CMSC 491 Complexity

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. HONR 300/CMSC 491Complexity Prof. Marie desJardins, January 28, 2016

  2. Course Topics

  3. Reproduced from Gary Flake, The Computational Beauty of Nature, MIT Press, 1998

  4. Topics • 1/26-2/9: • 2/11-2/25: • 3/1-3/10: • 3/22: • 3/24-3/29: • 3/31-4/17: • 4/12-4/19: • 4/21-4/28: • 5/3-5/??: Complexity, mathematical and algorithmic background Fractals Chaos Midterm Cellular and finite-state automata (machines) Multi-agent systems NetLogo project presentations Optimization and adaptation Presentations, additional topics if time

  5. Sources of Complexity

  6. Complexity and Agents • Complexity in systems arises from interactionsbetween individual components or agentsof the system • Emergenceis the concept that system behavior is not readily inferred from individual agent behaviors: it arises from the interactions between the agents in complex and beautiful ways • Self-similarity arises when similar patterns occur at multiple levels of abstraction or multiple parts of a system • Sources of complexity: • Parallelism • Recursion • Adaptation

  7. Parallelism michaelmcfadyenscuba.info/ reference.findtarget.com mathaware.org http://hermetic.ch/

  8. Parallelism • Parallelism: Many copies of identical or highly similar agents operating simultaneously (but potentially interacting with each other) • Examples: • Biological/biochemical systems: Fish schools, ant colonies, protein folding • Mathematical models: Cellular automata • Physical processes: Galaxy formation, planetary rings • Social/technological systems: Economic markets, social networks, structure of the Internet, RAID disk arrays

  9. Recursion faqs.org wikipedia.org condostx.com wallpaperstock.net

  10. Recursion • Recursion: a repetitive process in which a process is invoked repeatedly on successively smaller versions of the entity or problem being manipulated • Examples of recursion: • Biological processes: Tree branches, seashells, coral reefs • Mathematical models: Fractals, L-systems • Physical processes: Coastal formation, sand dunes, snowflakes, cloud formations, mountain ranges • Social systems: Micromarkets, hierarchical organizations, clan systems, governmental systems, knowledge structures

  11. Adaptation intranet.friaryschool.net pinnycohen.com mms.nps.gov scienceray.com childrenshospital.org

  12. Adaptation • Adaptation: Modification of an agent or a species (collection of agents over time, through reproduction) in response to environmental pressures (competition for resources) • Examples: • Biological systems: Evolution, drug-resistant bacteria, learning and memory, cancer • Mathematical models: Dynamic optimization, feedback models • Physical processes: Global climate change, meandering river shapes, mineral formation • Social systems: Opinion formation, market fads, competitive markets, social protocols/etiquette

  13. What Does Complexity Mean to You? • What did you think you were signing up for when you registered for this class?

  14. How Big is a Complex System? • Powers of Ten movie (9 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0

  15. What Next? • Reminders: • The first reading journal is due 12 hours before our next class (i.e., by 8:30 p.m. on Monday, February 1). • The “Complexity in Everyday Life” assignment is due next Thursday, February 4.

More Related