Open AccessComplexity of a modelling exercise: A discussion of the role of computer simulation in complex system science
Author(s) -
Boschetti Fabio,
McDonald David,
Gray Randall
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
complexity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.447
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1099-0526
pISSN - 1076-2787
DOI - 10.1002/cplx.20215
Subject(s) - ingenuity , computer science , task (project management) , set (abstract data type) , process (computing) , context (archaeology) , simple (philosophy) , creativity , observer (physics) , artificial intelligence , human–computer interaction , theoretical computer science , data science , management science , epistemology , programming language , psychology , systems engineering , paleontology , social psychology , philosophy , economics , biology , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Shifting the emphasis from a model to a modeling task , which involves both a computer model and a modeler, we ask what makes a problem complex. We propose that a modeling task can be seen as a set of questions‐and‐answers, nested at multiple levels. The role of the modeler then lies in posing the questions and choosing the best procedure to answer them, while the role of the model lies in answering the questions, via algorithmic, thus logically simple, procedures. Within this framework, complexity is broadly related to the number of question‐answer levels involved in the process and the nature of the questions posed. Addressing this complexity depends crucially on the ingenuity and creativity of the modeler. This may lead to a view of complexity, which is no more observer‐independent, but rather accounts for both historical and cultural development, that is the context of the problem at hand. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 2008.