Modeling Complex Phenomena
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Modeling Complex Phenomena
Author: Lui Lam
language: en
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Release Date: 2012-12-06
Once upon a time, science was not divided into disciplines as we know it today. There was no distinction between so-called social and natural sciences, not to mention the fragmentation of the latter into physics, chemistry, biology, geology, etc. According to legend, the scientists those days would do their research in whatever environment they happened to find comfortable, which more often than not was in bathtubs or giant hot tubs - remember Archimedes! Then, somehow, these days we find ourselves compartmentalized into different departments in our universities, or divisions in our research institutes. (We suspect, for one thing, that is to ensure that we will get our paychecks delivered on time at the end of each month. ) Anyway, as anyone who has worked in the real world knows: when one is confronted with a completely new problem or phenomenon, it is usually impossible to neatly assign the problem to physics, chemistry, or, for that matter, computer science. One needs to recall and fuse together the knowledge one learned before and, if that alone is insufficient, to consult experts in other areas. This points to the shortcomings of the compartmentalization of knowledge in our educational systems. In recent years, something has changed. Under the banner of Complex Systems, some brave souls are not afraid to tackle problems that are considered intractable by others, and dare to venture out of their trained disciplines or departments to which they are attached.
Sociophysics
Author: Serge Galam
language: en
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Release Date: 2012-02-11
Do humans behave much like atoms? Sociophysics, which uses tools and concepts from the physics of disordered matter to describe some aspects of social and political behavior, answers in the affirmative. But advocating the use of models from the physical sciences to understand human behavior could be perceived as tantamount to dismissing the existence of human free will and also enabling those seeking manipulative skills . This thought-provoking book argues it is just the contrary. Indeed, future developments and evaluation will either show sociophysics to be inadequate, thus supporting the hypothesis that people can primarily be considered to be free agents, or valid, thus opening the path to a radically different vision of society and personal responsibility. This book attempts to explain why and how humans behave much like atoms, at least in some aspects of their collective lives, and then proposes how this knowledge can serve as a unique key to a dramatic leap forwards in achieving more social freedom in the real world. At heart, sociophysics and this book are about better comprehending the richness and potential of our social interaction, and so distancing ourselves from inanimate atoms.
Investigating Complex Phenomena: Bridging between Systems Thinking and Modeling in Science Education
Understanding the complexity of the natural world and making sense of phenomena is one of the main goals of science and science education. When investigating complex phenomena, such as climate change or pandemic outbreaks, students are expected to engage in systems thinking by considering the boundaries of the investigated system, identifying the relevant components and their interactions, and exploring system attributes such as hierarchical organization, dynamicity, feedback loops, and emergence. Scientific models are tools that support students’ reasoning and understanding of complex systems, and students are expected to develop their modeling competence and to engage in the modeling process by constructing, testing, revising, and using models to explain and predict phenomena. Computational modeling tools, for example, provide students with the opportunity to explore big data, run simulations and investigate complex systems. Therefore, both systems thinking and modeling approaches are important for science education when investigating complex phenomena.