Christopher X J. Jensen
Professor, Pratt Institute

A spatial version of the Traveler’s Dilemma allows cooperation to persist

Posted 23 Mar 2013 / 0

PLos ONE “Evolution of Cooperation in Spatial Traveler’s Dilemma Game“

A Minor Post, Cooperation, Game Theory, Reciprocity, Spatially Explicit Modeling

My review of Railsback and Grimm’s “Agent-based and individual-based modeling” textbook published in Ecology

Posted 22 Mar 2013 / 2

I am excited by the recent publication of my review of Agent-based and individual-based modeling: a practical introduction in the January issue of Ecology. The review, entitled “Individual-based modeling for the masses“, lauds this valuable textbook designed to support individual-based modeling courses. I expect the combination of this text and the very valuable NetLogo modeling Read More

A Major Post, Ecological Modeling, Individual-based Models, My publications, Spatially Explicit Modeling

Freeman Dyson wins the contest, and then says the contest is stupid

Posted 07 Dec 2012 / 0

Institute for Advanced Study “The Prisoner’s Dilemma” One of my favorite skateboarders when I was young was Natas Kaupas, an innovative skater who pioneered a lot of modern streetstyle. Natas was one of those skaters who could do things that no other skateboarders could, but he was not particularly successful in one arena that was Read More

A Minor Post, Articles, Cooperation, Evolutionary Modeling, Game Theory, Group Selection, Human Evolution, Modeling (General), Multilevel Selection, Reciprocity

Agent-based modeling instead of game theory: I agree!

Posted 20 Sep 2012 / 0

The Society Pages “Progressing from game theory to agent based modelling to simulate social emergence” This is a nice albeit pretty choppy explanation for why we should not listen to orthodox/traditional game theorists. The only argument I see missing here is that game theory relies on the assumption of a well-mixed population: even the Prisoner’s Read More

A Minor Post, Cooperation, Emergence, Evolutionary Modeling, Game Theory, Individual-based Models, Spatially Explicit Modeling, Web

ESA 2012 Thursday afternoon talks

Posted 10 Aug 2012 / 0

I spent Thursday afternoon once again hustling from one talk to another, with Organized Oral Session #47 (Universal Senescence? New Theories and Experimental Approaches Across the Tree of Life) being my primary focus. The writings of George C. Williams and his ingenious antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis explaining aging have always fascinated me. Like a lot of Read More

A Major Post, Behavior, Conferences, Ecological Modeling, Ecological Society of America, Ecosystem Services, Freshwater Ecosystems, Individual-based Models, Parasitism, Phenotypic Plasticity, Ponds & Lakes, Predation, Senescence, Spatially Explicit Modeling, Sustainable Agriculture, Talks & Seminars, Tropical Forest

ESA 2012 Workshop #8, Getting off the Ground with Individual-Based Modeling: A Primer for Instructors and Researchers

Posted 05 Aug 2012 / 0

I got off to a running start at this year’s Ecological Society of America (ESA) annual meeting with a workshop orchestrated by Steven Railsback and Volker Grimm. Entitled “Getting off the Ground with Individual-Based Modeling: A Primer for Instructors and Researchers“, the workshop was a practical introduction to the material provided in their new textbook Agent-Based Read More

A Major Post, Conferences, Ecological Modeling, Ecological Society of America, Individual-based Models, Spatially Explicit Modeling, Talks & Seminars

When any behavior can be modeled, real-world constraint is critical

Posted 17 Jul 2012 / 0

PLoS One “Modeling Collective Animal Behavior with a Cognitive Perspective: A Methodological Framework“

A Minor Post, Behavior, Behavioral Ecology, Cognitive Ability, Evolutionary Modeling, Intelligences, Modeling (General), Neuroscience

I am finally diving into NetLogo!

Posted 15 Jul 2012 / 0

NetLogo I am reading the new-ish Railsback and Grimm book Agent-Based and Individual-Based Modeling: A Practical Introduction, and this book is finally compelling me to learn NetLogo. I am pretty excited about its potential for teaching and curious about whether I can use it for research.

A Minor Post, Evolutionary Modeling, Individual-based Models, Spatially Explicit Modeling

Understanding the effects of asymmetry and relatedness on social volunteerism

Posted 06 Jun 2012 / 0

I am proud to announce the recent publication of a new paper in the Chinese Science Bulletin with collaborators from Yunnan University and the Kunming Institute of Zoology in Kunming, China. Our paper, entitled “Cooperation in an asymmetric volunteer’s dilemma game with relatedness“, uses a game-theoretic analysis of a new variant to the volunteer’s dilemma to Read More

Evolutionary Modeling, Game Theory, Kin Selection, Modeling (General), Mutualism, My publications

Steven Railsback and Volker Grimm offer new introduction to the process of agent- and individual-based modeling

Posted 27 Jan 2012 / 0

Princeton University Press “Agent-Based and Individual-Based Modeling: A Practical Introduction” by Steven Railsback and Volker Grimm

A Minor Post, Ecological Modeling, Individual-based Models, Spatially Explicit Modeling