CMN 150V MIDTERM (UCD) EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS
What forms the basis for computational social science?
The digital revolution
how much of the world's information was stored in analog form in the late 1980s?
80% of information
Today, how much of our information is stored digitally?
over 99%
how quickly does the amount of stored digital information increase?
It doubles every 2.5 years
how much stored digital information was there in 2014?
5 ZB (5x10^21)
when does evolution happen?
when we find new ways to process information
when do digital and biological merge?
when society as a whole becomes indispensably dependent on digital technology
what are the three kinds of problems (Weaver)?
simplicity, averages, organized complexity
simplicity
2 or 3 variable problems
averages
probability theory; large numbers of variables in which the behavior of a certain individual is
unknown; working with distributions
organized complexity
simultaneously dealing with a large number of interrelated factora
what type of problem is computational social science
organized complexity problem
what is the order of the hierarchy of science (bottom to top)
, physics, chemistry, biology, social, technological
physics
dynamics of matter
chemistry
inorganic compositions of atoms
biology
organic forms of matter
social
study of networks among humans
technological
artificial intelligence and communication
social emergence
looking at society as a single super organism that emerges from individuals who come from
different organizations and who have different motives
what did Marx say about social emergence?
quantitative differences can become qualitative changes
what are the three parts of the scientific method?
empirical, theoretical, analytical
what is the empirical scientific method in the context of computational social science?
big data: our digital footprint; observation and collection of data; induction
induction
data to theory
what is the process of induction?
phenomena/system, collect data, abstraction/analysis/model, hypothesis, theory
what the theoretical scientific method in the context of computational social science?
computational models about society used to make theories about society; computer simulations;
deduction
deduction
theory to data
WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS
What forms the basis for computational social science?
The digital revolution
how much of the world's information was stored in analog form in the late 1980s?
80% of information
Today, how much of our information is stored digitally?
over 99%
how quickly does the amount of stored digital information increase?
It doubles every 2.5 years
how much stored digital information was there in 2014?
5 ZB (5x10^21)
when does evolution happen?
when we find new ways to process information
when do digital and biological merge?
when society as a whole becomes indispensably dependent on digital technology
what are the three kinds of problems (Weaver)?
simplicity, averages, organized complexity
simplicity
2 or 3 variable problems
averages
probability theory; large numbers of variables in which the behavior of a certain individual is
unknown; working with distributions
organized complexity
simultaneously dealing with a large number of interrelated factora
what type of problem is computational social science
organized complexity problem
what is the order of the hierarchy of science (bottom to top)
, physics, chemistry, biology, social, technological
physics
dynamics of matter
chemistry
inorganic compositions of atoms
biology
organic forms of matter
social
study of networks among humans
technological
artificial intelligence and communication
social emergence
looking at society as a single super organism that emerges from individuals who come from
different organizations and who have different motives
what did Marx say about social emergence?
quantitative differences can become qualitative changes
what are the three parts of the scientific method?
empirical, theoretical, analytical
what is the empirical scientific method in the context of computational social science?
big data: our digital footprint; observation and collection of data; induction
induction
data to theory
what is the process of induction?
phenomena/system, collect data, abstraction/analysis/model, hypothesis, theory
what the theoretical scientific method in the context of computational social science?
computational models about society used to make theories about society; computer simulations;
deduction
deduction
theory to data
