Swarm Intelligence

behaviors cover a wide range indeed, there are even more things over

which interpersonal influence extends, such as language, art, technical

standards, and social norms.” Axelrod moves between levels of analogy

when he simultaneously describes the symbol strings as persons and as

“sites,” which might be thought of as neighboring villages. The model is

described in this chapter on the level of individual persons interacting

with their neighbors, which does appear to be Axelrod’s primary focus as

well.

Experiment One: Similarity in Axelrod’s Model

Axelrod theorizes that similarity is a precondition for social interaction

and subsequent exchange of cultural ...