Friday Sep 30, 2005
Eliza, Computer Therapist, in javascript
I just looked at Eliza, the 'computer therapist', which produces a sort of parody of a therapist, throwing your comment back as questions, etc. I'm amazed to find it is entirely written in Javascript - see the source for the page.
The singularity and simulation
Ray Kurzweil has a new book coming out so there've been a lot of interviews with him. Odd that he never seems to mention simulation, when it is so relevant to his case.
Thursday Sep 29, 2005
A psychoanalytic perspective on simulation: are we changing ourselves more than we think?
I had a long flight recently so I read Sherry Turkle's fascinating essay, Whither Psychoanalysis in a Computer Culture?
Many insights relevant to simulation: and the challenging question whether our attempts to make systems that 'seem real' (in an emotional as well as a visual and intellectual sense) are actually changing us and our attitudes.
Saturday Sep 24, 2005
Rent-an-avatar
I've been playing with Sitepal, which allows you to add a talking avatar to your own site. Too expensive for me (between $10 and $50 per month, depending on functionality) but a good example of what is available.
Friday Sep 23, 2005
Virtual plagues
Alice Taylor's Wonderland blog mentions a virus that is spreading through the World Of Warcraft game. Apparently it is mimicing the behaviour of a real (ie human) virus.
Sunday Sep 18, 2005
On-Line Guide for Newcomers to ABM (Axelrod and Tesfatsion)
I've just found the On-Line Guide for Newcomers to Agent Based Modelling website maintained by Robert Axelrod and Leigh Tesfatsion. This looks like a very useful resource.
Schneier on Security: Research in Behavioral Risk Analysis
An intriguing entry on Bruce Schneier's always stimulating blog covers research which seems to be 'simulation' in all but name. What it is called doesn't matter, but is there an overlap situation here? Simulation researchers may already be looking at some of these issues.
Saturday Sep 17, 2005
An XML subset for emergencies
I've just discovered that an XML subset has been developed for reporting emergencies. This allows emergency response agencies to exchange information in a standardised format.
Friday Sep 9, 2005
More about 'Hurricane Pam'
According to an AP report the Hurricane Pam simulation last year predicted 61,290 dead and 384,257 injured if a hurricane were to hit New Orleans.
The report says:
"Under FEMA's direction, federal and state officials began working on the $1 million Hurricane Pam project in July 2004, when 270 experts gathered in Baton Rouge, La., for an eight-day simulation. The so-called "tabletop" exercise focused planners on a mock hurricane that produced more than 20 inches of rain and 14 tornadoes. The drill included computer graphic simulations projected on large screens of the hurricane slamming directly into New Orleans - considered by federal experts to be nearly as big a risk as a terrorist attack on American soil or a massive earthquake in San Francisco."
Saturday Sep 3, 2005
Hurricane Katrina and the limits of simulation
According to a report in the Guardian, US officials held a simulation in 2004 called 'Hurricane Pam', based on a scenario in which a hurricane destroyed half a million buildings in New Orleans. However, the confident statements made after the simulation seem to belong to a different world to the reports coming out of the area after the real hurricane Katrina. Was any of this the fault of the simulation?