Communications of the ACM
Research Team Explores the Melding of Concepts From Different Fields
Researchers in Kyoto University's Department of Social Informatics are investigating how seemingly separate concepts in scientific fields fuse to become universal approaches.
Credit: Chris Vincenot/Kyoto University
Researchers at Kyoto University in Japan explored how seemingly dissimilar concepts in scientific disciplines combine to become universal approaches.
The team compared the concepts of agent-based modeling (often used in the computer sciences) and individual-based modeling (mainly used in ecology). Kyoto's Christian E. Vincenot determined both concepts are founded on the same principle, and are used to study complex systems by modeling a single individual and then scaling up to a larger group.
He theorizes that three elements are necessary for fusion to happen: researchers must be aware of issues in different fields; common language, terminology, and software must be developed; and more unified theories have to be cultivated.
"We need more transcendental theories, which serve as frameworks for sciences, to develop in a self-sustaining manner," Vincenot contends. "Basically, we must interpret current results and use them as building blocks to recursively create new theories."
From Phys.org
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