The new science of artificial societies suggests that real ones are both more predictable and more surprising than we thought. Growing long-vanished civilizations and modern-day genocides on computers will probably never enable us to foresee the future in detail-but we might learn to anticipate the kinds of events that lie ahead, and where to look for interventions that might work.
Editor’s Note: This is a brilliant article that, despite the description, is very applicable to the world of business and economics, in particular the possible enhancement of scenario planning and a defense (or perhaps a contradiction) to the idea of ceteris paribus (everything else equal). It is also a terrific example of how non-business publications can provide good business insights.
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