Description: Multiagent Modeling teaches you that simple rules underlie complex phenomena. In particular, it demonstrates how a population of agents that interact with one another and with their environment according to simple instructions can simulate a variety of seemingly unrelated phenomena in the earth sciences, biology, urban studies, artificial intelligence, epidemiology, ecology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, economics, decision theory, organizational psychology, political science, communications, and linguistics. Rather than having you go out into the real world and perform costly and painstaking experiments on the atmosphere, forests, wolves and sheep, banks, farmers, superhighways, cities or villages, you will learn how to use a 2D modeling environment called NetLogo to populate an artificial world of your design with agents that do your bidding, or at least follow the rules that you impose on them. When you run your model world, its agents will interact over time, and you may see complex, and often unexpected, patterns develop among them. As a by-product, you should be able to talk to almost anyone about almost anything. This can be useful in a job interview or a cocktail party. Don't think that Tulane doesn't teach you practical stuff.
Did I mention that this is going to be fun? Go ahead and try out the NetLogo simulation Mimicry. Read the text and then click the link "Run Mimicry in your browser". Move the slider at the top right more towards the right so that the simulation will run faster, click the setup button and then the go button. What happens to the viceroys? And more importantly, do you understand how it happens?
Objectives:
Outcomes: For you to demonstrate your attainment of these objectives, you will perform the following tasks:
Code of Academic Integrity
“The integrity of Newcomb-Tulane College is based on the absolute honesty of the entire community in all academic endeavors. As part of the Tulane University community, students have certain responsibilities regarding work that forms the basis for the evaluation of their academic achievement. Students are expected to be familiar with these responsibilities at all times. No member of the university community should tolerate any form of academic dishonesty, because the scholarly community of the university depends on the willingness of both instructors and students to uphold the Code of Academic Conduct. When a violation of the Code of Academic Conduct is observed it is the duty of every member of the academic community who has evidence of the violation to take action. Students should take steps to uphold the code by reporting any suspected offense to the instructor or the associate dean of the college. Students should under no circumstances tolerate any form of academic dishonesty.” For further information, point your browser at http://college.tulane.edu/honorcode.htm.
Violations of the Code of Academic Integrity will not be tolerated in this class. I will rigorously investigate and pursue any such transgression.
Students with disabilities who need academic accommodation should:
Date |
Day |
Topic |
Assignment |
ppt | mp3 | Q/P |
Jan 11 (M) |
1 | Introduction to the course | ![]() |
![]() |
||
13 (W) |
2 | Introduction to NetLogo |
NetLogo User Manual: What is NetLogo? Sample Model: Party |
![]() |
![]() |
|
15 (F) |
3 | Models in NetLogo |
NetLogo User Manual: Tutorial #1: Models - Wolf Sheep Predation |
![]() |
![]() |
|
18 (M) |
MLK Birthday |
|||||
20 (W) |
4 | Earth sciences: diffusion |
![]() |
![]() |
||
22 (F) |
5 | Biology: flocking, herding & schooling |
Boids, Biology > Flocking |
![]() |
![]() |
|
25 (M) | 6 | Biology: from foraging to graph theory |
Biology > Ants, AntSystem (errors), Earth Sciences > Fire |
![]() |
-- | Q1 |
27 (W) |
7 | Biology: migration | Social science > Scatter, Randomly walking (??), Programming | ![]() |
![]() |
|
29 (F) |
8 | AI: navigation | Path finder, Programming | -- | ![]() |
|
Feb 1 (M) |
9 | -- | -- | Q2 |
||
3 (W) |
10 | Social science: traffic |
Social science > Traffic basic, Traffic grid (Traffic simulation) |
![]() |
![]() |
|
5 (F) |
11 | Social science: individual vs. collective movement |
![]() |
![]() |
||
8 (M) |
12 | Biology: communication Epidemiology: spread of disease |
Quorum
sensing (skip) |
-- | ![]() |
|
10 (W) |
13 | Epidemiology: the SIR model |
![]() |
![]() |
Q3 | |
12 (F) |
14 | Epidemiology: night of the living dead | Zombie infection, Zombie infection 2, another Zombie infection 2 | -- | -- | |
15 (M) |
Lundi Gras |
|||||
17 (W) |
15 | Ecology: predator-prey models |
Biology > Wolf-sheep predation, Wolf-sheep predation refuge, Curricular models > Urban suite > Pollution |
![]() |
![]() |
|
19 (F) |
16 | Ecology: predator-prey evolution |
Bug hunt evolution (update errors), Community structure v4 |
-- | ![]() |
|
22 (M) |
17 | Biology: population genetics |
-- | ![]() |
Q4 | |
24 (W) |
18 | Evolutionary biology: game theory 1 |
-- | ![]() |
||
26 (F) |
19 | Evolutionary biology: game theory 2 |
![]() |
-- | ||
Mar 1 (M) |
20 | Evolutionary biology: social factors |
Sample models > Social science > Altruism, Divide the cake |
-- | ![]() |
Q5 |
3 (W) |
21 | Anthropology: agrarian societies |
Sample models > Social science > Cooperation [Southern African Agrarian Humans Suite NA] |
-- | -- | |
5 (F) |
22 | Anthropology: aggression & ethnocentrism |
-- | -- | ||
8 (M) |
23 | Anthropology: cultural dissemination | Axelrodv2, | -- | ![]() |
|
10 (W) |
24 | Urbanism: why live in cities? |
Brainstorm P6 [Urbanization MC (on web), Urban transition (won't update) |
-- | ![]() |
|
12 (F) |
25 | Urbanism: clustering 1 | -- | -- | ||
15 (M) |
26 | Urbanism: clustering 2 |
-- | ![]() |
Q6 |
|
17 (W) |
27 | Urbanism: misc |
Urban Suite > Structure from randomness, Social science > Segregation, Urban Suite > Path dependence, [Shopsim] |
-- | ![]() |
Q7 |
19 (F) |
28 | Urbanism: real example | Urban Suite > Cells, Urban Suite > Tijuana Bordertowns | -- | ![]() |
|
22 (M) |
29 | Economics: | Urban Suite > Positive feedback, Sprawl effect, Awareness | -- | ![]() |
|
24 (W) |
30 | Economics: distribution of wealth | Social Science > Wealth distribution, Urban Suite > Economic disparity | -- | ![]() |
Q8 |
26 (F) |
31 | Economics: rational agent model & banking | -- | -- | ||
29 (M) |
Spring Break |
|||||
31 (W) |
Spring Break |
|||||
Apr 2 (F) |
Spring Break |
|||||
5 (M) |
32 | Economics: customers & consumers | ||||
7 (W) |
33 | Decision making: prisoner's dilemma |
Social sciences > El Faro; SS > unverified > [Minority game], BankReserves, Cash flow |
Q9 | ||
9 (F) |
34 | Decision making: negotiation |
LogoMoth, Negotiations, consumerism project, [customerBehavior] |
|||
12 (M) |
35 | Organizational psychology |
||||
14 (W) |
36 | Political science: civil violence, colonialism | Rebellion, Colonialism, | Q10 | ||
16 (F) |
37 | Political science: voting | Voting, Voting - network knowledge, Voting - network vote choice | |||
19 (M) |
38 | Political science: international environmentalism | Cooperative countries, | |||
21 (W) |
39 | Communications: spread of rumors & innovation |
||||
23 (F) |
40 | Linguistics | Language change, | |||
26 (M) |
41 | Last quiz, party | Q11 | |||
30 (F) |
42 | FINAL EXAM DAY 1-5 pm |
Present projects |
Go
back to Harry Howard's home page
Inception: 26-Sept-09. Last revision: April 9, 2010 . HH