The best of all possible coexistence

The Best of All Possible Words

Seeking the Best of All Possible Worlds

We describe a framework for analyzing simulation output in order to find solutions that will work well after implementation. We show how the use of a loss function that incorporates both system mean and system variability can be used to efficiently and effectively carry out system optimization and improvement efforts. For models whose behavior depends on quantitative factors, we illustrate how ...

Is the coexistence of Catalan and Spanish possible in Catalonia?

Lúıs F. Seoane1,2,3,@,∗, Xaqúın Loredo, Henrique Monteagudo, and Jorge Mira7,@,∗ 1 Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139. 2 ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra – PRBB, Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain. 3 Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, UPF-CSIC, Passg Barceloneta, 08003 Barcelona. 4 Seminario de Sociolingǘıstica da Real Academia...

Do We Live in the Best of All Possible Worlds? The Fine-Tuning of the Constants of Nature

Our existence depends on a variety of constants which appear to be extremely fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life as we know it. These include the number of spatial dimensions, the strengths of the forces, the masses of the particles, the composition of the Universe and others. On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the death of G.W. Leibniz we discuss the question of whether we l...

Computing All the Best Swap Edges Distributively

In systems using shortest-path routing tables, a single link failure is enough to interrupt the message transmission by disconnecting one or more shortestpath spanning trees. The on-line recomputation of an alternative path or of the entire new shortest path trees, rebuilding the routing tables accordingly, is rather expensive and causes long delays in the message’s transmission [5, 10]. Hopefu...