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DTSTAMP:20260914T201505Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20121116T203436Z
DTSTART:20080408T193000Z
DTEND:20080408T203000Z
UID:event250@bu.edu
URL:http://physics.bu.edu/internal/events/show/250
SUMMARY:Of Bugs and Men: Game Playing\, Evolution and Adaptation for Physic
	ists
DESCRIPTION:Featuring Robert H. Austin\, Princeton University\nHosted by: O
	phelia Tsui\nPoster: http://physics.bu.edu/internal//posters/2008_Spring/06
	_Austin.pdf\n\nPart of the Physics Department Colloquia Series.\n\nAbstract
	: We have developed a way to examine the population dynamics of bacteria in
	 a complex ecological environment using nanolithography.  We have observed\
	, as would be expected\, that there is a complex ``game'' (but more than a 
	game) played by populations of populations (metapopulations) of organisms t
	hat is a mixture of selfishness and altruism at many different length scale
	s.  Although it is believed that game theory as developed by von Neumann an
	d Nash  can predict the stable equilibrium of our metapopulations\, we beli
	eve that this in fact not true\, that the population dynamics are not compu
	table from a conventional approach using stored programs and rational analy
	sis.  Bacterial communities do probably try to maximize fitness\, but how f
	itness is defined\, over what range of individual genotypes is the communit
	y defined\, and over what time scale into the future is fitness extrapolate
	d is probably a task that cannot be expressed in terms of numerical algorit
	hms.  Yet\, it is a game that all organisms\, from bacteria to man\, are co
	nstantly playing.  The computational game that they play we do not believe 
	is one that can be coded using conventional logic\, yet the solutions to th
	is game we believe represent the future of complex communities on our plane
	t.
LOCATION: \, \, 
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CLASS:PUBLIC
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