Re: Cellular Automata vs. Agent-Based Models

[Luis Rocha]

To me the clearest distinction between CA's and ABM's is the fact that the
first are based on synchronous updating and the second MAY be asynchronous.
The asynchrony of ABM's results from either a discrete-event design (agents
react only to certain cues from an environment and not on the clock) or from
some scheduling process that specifies which agents act after which other
agents and environmental clues.

An asynchronous system behaves very differently from synchronous
counterparts, particularly in reaching stable states much more easily. It is
also a more realistic starting point to model social networks and the like.
For instance to study decision making, it is unrealistic to think that
agents "vote" or "elect" all at the same time (as CA models would demand).

Furthermore, in ABM's there is also, potentially, a clearer distinction
between environment and agents. Some people also prefer to restrict the term
agent to something more complicated than a state-determined machine, namely,
state-deermined machines endowed with random-access memory (possibly turing
machines).

Cheers,
Luis
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Luis Mateus Rocha
Complex Systems Modeling Team
Computer Research and Applications Group (CIC-3)
Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS B265
Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
T: 505-665-5328 Fax: 505-665-5638
e-mail: address@hidden or address@hidden
www: http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~rocha
______________________________________________________
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