Nick actually wrote an yet-unpublished paper about cognitive blindness to complex explanations of group phenomenon (i.e., our bias towards asserting that specific individuals were responsible for whatever happened). I have a copy around here somewhere if people were interested (and Nick did not object).
Eric On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 10:43 AM, lrudo...@meganet.net wrote: > Nick Thompson may deny being a proper "social psychologist" >but he certainly hung about with social psychologists for >enough years that his remarks on such matters as "cognitive >biases and group think"--should he choose to make any--would >be well worth attending to (if only to determine a basepoint >for subsequent jeering). And his admitted expertise in >ethology and primatology might be apposite too. > >So pipe up, Nick. > >Lee Rudolph > > >On 23 Mar 2010 at 10:32, Ted Carmichael wrote: > >> That actually sounds cool. There's probably a lot of potential to work on >> stuff that includes cognitive biases and group think and such. You ever >> read Richard Feynman's take on the Challenger disaster? Might be a good >> reference for you ... probably, you can find it in one of his books, where >> he talks about it at length. It's an interesting story in and of itself. >> >> Have fun! >> >> -Ted >> >> On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 12:22 AM, Vladimyr Ivan Burachynsky ><vbur...@shaw.ca >> > wrote: >> >> > Thanks for the responses and the advice, I hope to work my way >through >> > the unusual protocols. I am trying to reply to Stephen Thompson and >Ted >> > Carmichael. >> > >> > I could not find a Reply button on the Friam newsgroup pages. >> > >> > >> > >> > You could say I have a pretty classic (Basic) background in > Biology and >> > Engineering. I have always been very uneasy with the concept of >species and >> > groups in general. >> > >> > I have run into a few examples in entomology that seem to bend the >rules >> > quite a bit and then there are the orchid hybrids that seem to make a >> > mockery of speciation. >> > >> > >> > >> > I am interested in the phenomenon of "Group Thinking" >Amusingly I dispute >> > the existence of groups and thinking in this case. Perhaps the >observer had >> > an unintentional bias. I recently heard of a psychological situation >> > referred to as the "Abilene Experiment" I hope I got it >right. I would like >> > to play with the agents to reproduce bizarre human social behavior. >> > >> > >> > >> > This may seem flaky but I would love to work with defective agents >that >> > appear externally normal. >> > >> > Coming from years of engineering work I am always amazed at the >nature of >> > accidents, complex system failures. Inevitably people seem to be at >fault >> > because they believed they were right at the wrong time. Even after an >> > accident they insist some one else was to blame. Perfectly sane people >> > believe in the most absurd ideas at the wrong time. It has made me >suspect >> > that there is a limit to how complex any system can get before it >collapses, >> > which has frightening implications. >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > Well thanks gentlemen and I will report back on my progress with >NetLogo. I >> > must be the first ever to wish to program stupid autonomous agents! >> > >> > >> > >> > *Dr.Vladimyr Ivan Burachynsky* >> > >> > *Ph.D.(Civil Eng.), M.Sc.(Mech.Eng.), >M.Sc.(Biology)* >> > >> > >> > >> > *120-1053 Beaverhill Blvd.* >> > >> > *Winnipeg, Manitoba* >> > >> > *CANADA R2J 3R2* >> > >> > *(204) 2548321 Phone/Fax* >> > >> > *vbur...@shaw.ca* <vbur...@shaw.ca> >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > -----Original Message----- >> > *From:* friam-boun...@redfish.com [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com] >*On >> > Behalf Of *Stephen Thompson >> > *Sent:* March 21, 2010 9:40 PM >> > *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group >> > *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] How to Begin? >> > >> > >> > >> > Vladimyr: >> > >> > I am a lurker on this site listening to interesting ideas. I recently >> > started looking into >> > agent-based systems. I started out with a Teaching Company lecture >series >> > entitled >> > Understanding Complexity by Prof Scott Page. He is a visiting Prof at >> > Sante Fe. >> > The course is just introductory content without any computational >> > exercises. >> > (www.TeachingCompany.com) Its a great introduction to the >field. Its a >> > nice way >> > pass the morning commute. >> > >> > Dr Page suggested the following books as well: >> > >> > > Agent-Based Models by Nigel Gilbert >> > > Simulation for the Social Scientist by Nigel Gilbert and Klaus G >> > Troitzsch >> > > Complexity A Guided Tour by Melanie Mitchell >> > >> > I added another book Dr. Page was too modest to suggest: >> > > Complex Adaptive Systems: An Into to Computational Models of >Social >> > Life. >> > by John Miller and Scott Page. >> > >> > I also downloaded the NetLogo system, but as yet have not installed >it. >> > >> > I recently came across a web-site by a regular member of this forum, >> > Owen Densmore. Its at >> > >> > http://complexityworkshop.com/ >> > >> > I have not explored it yet. >> > >> > My background is in mortgage finance. Sorry nothing interesting like >> > default >> > swaps, just old fashioned commercial mortgage loans. I recently >completed >> > a >> > degree in software engineering so I am looking forward to the >programming >> > aspects >> > of agents. I do this on my own time, so I have been focusing on more >of >> > the >> > background before I start the computational aspects. >> > >> > Steph T >> > >> > >> > >> > Ted Carmichael wrote: >> > >> > Hey, Vladimyr - >> > >> > >> > >> > I'm not in Santa Fe - I'm at UNC Charlotte, near the other coast - >but I >> > also work with complex systems and such. If you're not familiar with >it, >> > NetLogo is an excellent toolset for rapid prototyping of agent-based >> > systems. They continually update it, it's free, and there's tons of >> > support, so you can learn programming pretty easily in it. >> > >> > >> > >> > A good book might be M. Mitchell's newest: Complexity: A Guided Tour. > Well >> > written and thorough. Also, I always recommend Steve Johnson's >Emergence: >> > The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software. A little >more >> > towards the general audience, but some excellent examples of CAS. >> > >> > >> > >> > I'm sure others will have some good recommends as well. >> > >> > >> > >> > Good luck! >> > >> > -Ted >> > >> > On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 7:00 PM, Vladimyr Ivan Burachynsky < >> > vbur...@shaw.ca> wrote: >> > >> > Hi, >> > >> > I am interested in communicating with people already working with >> > Complexity. >> > >> > As a scientist formerly working in epidemiology and more recently in >> > robotics, I have become increasingly interested in Non-linear >problems. >> > >> > Unfortunately my background is basically inappropriate and would like >a >> > little advice on how to get set up working with Autonomous Agents. >> > >> > Hopefully, some one can provide a little guidance. My background is >rather >> > complex and does include some programming efforts over the years but >AA is >> > a big leap from machine motion programs. Some day I may be able to >make a >> > significant contribution to the field using my few talents. >> > >> > >> > >> > I would like to travel to Santa Fe and listen in on your lecture >series. >> > >> > Vladimyr >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > *Dr.Vladimyr Ivan Burachynsky* >> > >> > *Ph.D.(Civil Eng.), M.Sc.(Mech.Eng.), >M.Sc.(Biology)* >> > >> > *120-1053 Beaverhill Blvd.* >> > >> > *Winnipeg, Manitoba* >> > >> > *CANADA R2J 3R2* >> > >> > *(204) 2548321 Phone/Fax* >> > >> > *vbur...@shaw.ca* <vbur...@shaw.ca> >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > ============================================================ >> > 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 >> > >> > >> > ============================================================ >> > 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 > > > Eric Charles Professional Student and Assistant Professor of Psychology Penn State University Altoona, PA 16601
============================================================ 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
