From: Robin Hanson (hanson@dosh.hum.caltech.edu)
Date: Tue Jul 30 1996 - 11:14:21 MDT
Eric Watt Forste writes:
>I doubt that useful computer simulations of society will be available until
>sometime after we are able to produce useful computer simulations of human
>brains. Human brains are not only far more complex than anything we've ever
>been able to usefully simulate, but they also have a tremendous causal
>impact on the development of society. ;)
I think you overstate the case, though I agree simulations can only
play a minor role for now.
>The question of the optimal social structure is explorable primarily by the
>study of history, a fact that futurist technophiles are often prone to
>overlook.
I take issue with "primarily". Data about current social structures
can tell us a great deal - you don't have to go back in time for data
to be useful. Laboratory experiments also tell us a lot. And theory
is very important for giving one concepts and hypotheses with which to
understand empirical data. Without patterns to look for, history
doesn't say much.
Robin Hanson hanson@hss.caltech.edu http://hss.caltech.edu/~hanson/
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