Category Archives: Modeling

[Video 357] Christophe Philemotte: Prepare yourself against the Zombie epidemic

Let’s say that there’s a zombie epidemic, and you have to write a program to decide where people should go. What technique, or techniques, should you use? In this talk, Christophe Philemotte suggests that we use agent-based modeling, which allow us to model a large system based on simple rules that apply to a large number of independent actors, known as “agents.” The talk describes how you can create a simple ABM system using Ruby, modeling behaviors (such as walking, and deciding on your next action) using objects and methods. While the talk  might not actually help you to avoid zombies in the event of an invasion, it will help you to understand a technique that is increasingly popular in a number of disciplines.