Models - simple but not simpler Comment on 'Modelling language evolution: Examples and predictions' by Tao Gong et al.

摘要

Einstein famously said: "Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler." Knowing exactly where to stop along the path of simplification, however, is a fundamental challenge in doing good science. The idiom: "The devil is in the detail" puts the emphasis at the other end of the path. The challenge is especially acute for the modeler, whose basic strategy is to strip away as much detail as possible in the hope of finding some answers to a complex issue in the virtual world of computer simulation. Language evolution in the real world is certainly as complex an issue as there is in science.