The Third Way of Agent-Based Social Simulation and a Computational Account of Emergence

Roy Wilson ()

Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, 2010, vol. 13, issue 3, 8

Abstract: This paper interprets a particular agent-based social simulation (ABSS) in terms of the third way of understanding agent-based simulation proposed by Conte. It is proposed that the normalized compression distance (derived from estimates of Kolmogorov complexity) between the initial and final macrolevel states of the ABSS provides a quantitative measure of the degree to which the results obtained via the ABSS might be obtained via a closed-form expression. If the final macrolevel state of an ABSS can only be obtained by simulation, this confers on agent-based social simulations a special status. Future empirical (computational) work and epistemological analyses are proposed.

Keywords: Agent-Based Social Simulation; Weak Emergence; Social Networks; Kolmogorov Complexity; Upward Causation; Downward Causation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-06-30
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