?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Against+the+inappropriate+use+of+numerical+representation+in+social+simulation&rft.creator=Edmonds%2C+Dr+Bruce&rft.subject=Social+simulation&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Science&rft.description=All+tools+have+their+advantages+and+disadvantages+and+for+all+tools+there+are+times+when+they+are+appropriate+and+times+when+they+are+not.++Formal+tools+are+no+exception+to+this+and+systems+of+numbers+are+examples+of+such+formal+tools.++Thus+there+will+be+occasions+where+using+a+number+to+represent+something+is+helpful+and+times+where+it+is+not.++To+use+a+tool+well+one+needs+to+understand+that+tool+and%2C+in+particular%2C+when+it+may+be+inadvisable+to+use+it+and+what+its+weaknesses+are.%0A%0AHowever+we+are+in+an+age+that+it+obsessed+by+numbers.++Governments+spend+large+amounts+of+money+training+its+citizens+in+how+to+use+numbers+and+their+declarative+abstractions+(graphs%2C+algebra+etc.)++We+are+surrounded+by+numbers+every+day+in%3A+the+news%2C+whether+forecasts%2C+our+speedometers+and+our+bank+balance.++We+are+used+to+using+numbers+in+loose%2C+almost+%E2%80%9Cconversational%E2%80%9D+ways+%E2%80%93+as+with+such+concepts+as+the+rate+of+inflation+and+our+own+%E2%80%9CIQ%E2%80%9D.+Numbers+have+become+so+famliar+that+we+no+more+worry+about+when+and+why+we+use+them+than+we+do+about+natural+language.++We+have+lost+the+warning+bells+in+our+head+that+remind+us+that+we+may+be+using+numbers+inappropriately.++They+have+entered+(and+sometimes+dominate)+our+language+of+thought.++Computers+have+exasperbated+this+trend+by+making+numbers+very+much+easier+to+store%2Fmanipulate%2Fcommunicate+and+more+seductive+by+making+possible+attractive+pictures+and+animations+of+their+patterns.++More+subtley%2C+when+thought+of+as+calculating+machines+that+can+play+games+with+us+and+simulate+the+detail+of+physical+systems%2C+they+suggest+that+everything+comes+down+to+numbers.%0A%0AFor+this+reason+it+is+second+nature+for+us+to+use+numbers+in+our+social+simulations+and+we+frequently+do+so+without+considering+the+consequences+of+this+choice.++This+paper+is+simply+a+reminder+about+numbers%3A+a+call+to+remember+that+they+are+just+another+(formal)+tool%3B+it+recaps+some+of+the+conditions+which+indicate+when+a+number+is+applicable+and+when+it+might+be+misleading%3B+it+looks+at+some+of+the+dangers+and+pitfalls+of+using+numbers%3B+it+considers+some+examples+of+the+use+of+numbers%3B+and+it+points+out+that+we+now+have+some+viable+alternatives+to+numbers+that+are+not+any+less+formal+but+which+may+be+often+preferable.&rft.date=2004-01&rft.type=Departmental+Technical+Report&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F4262%2F1%2Fan.pdf&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F4262%2F2%2Fan.html&rft.identifier=++Edmonds%2C+Dr+Bruce++(2004)+Against+the+inappropriate+use+of+numerical+representation+in+social+simulation.++%5BDepartmental+Technical+Report%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F4262%2F