Nickname: Milton

Review: I enjoy the article very much. As well as using to provide guidance or ilustrate where the new career opportunities are for member of the It community that have been affected or will be affected by Global Resourcing. Yes. We are using some of these algorithms today to help us become more efficient.

Date reviewed: Jan 17, 2006 3:49 AM

Nickname: helge

Review: always pay cash

Date reviewed: Jan 16, 2006 11:57 PM

Nickname: Cheech

Review: If I recall correctly, Isaac Asimov's Foundation series of novels tackles this precise question. The protagonist of the first novel is a mathematician who has calculated the future 1000 years in advance, and realizing that the galactic empire he lives in will dissolve into anarchy, he creates a foundation to preserve civilization as it was known. Interesting and disturbing at the same time.

Date reviewed: Jan 16, 2006 11:46 PM

Nickname: Dave

Review: I think what some people here are missing is that these mathematical models won't be making exact predictions of behavior. The models are based on probabilities and they will point us toward the most likely set of outcomes, not one specific prediction. This is the essence of much of the stochastic modeling done in quantitative finance. Techniques such as this have also been employed to study the dynamics of "randomly" moving molecules and the spread of diseases. So don't expect a mathematical model to ever tell you definitively what an individual will do. Expect them to tell you what the most likely behavior of a person is and to also suggest other, less likely, behaviors. For example, if I mathematically modeled my gastro-intestinal system and my metabolism then my model might be able to tell me which types of foods I will most likely be craving given my current diet, but it won't be able to predict exactly what I will have for lunch.

Date reviewed: Jan 16, 2006 10:59 PM

Nickname: vzn

Review: Great to see the mainstream media discovering the importance & preeminence of quantitative mathematics & what might be called the new field of "algorithmics". I noticed the increasing relevance/significance of this realm & started a blog/mailing list on it about 7.5 years ago. take a look, we'd like to hear from you. search on anything related & it will probably turn up in the large msg archives http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theory-edge/ best links collection http://vznuri.orgspace.com/theory-edge/ see also my online paper on (among other things) mathematics & simulation & modelling in economics http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/wpawuwpma/0203005.htm

Date reviewed: Jan 16, 2006 5:13 PM

Nickname: rxp6810

Review: Anyone who says that we are putting too much stock in math to predict the future is missing the point. It is not about predicting the future per se...it is about making business decisions.

Date reviewed: Jan 16, 2006 4:13 PM

Nickname: Aghbah

Review: Mathematics to predict the future? Are we getting smarter or dumber? Seriously.

Date reviewed: Jan 16, 2006 2:25 PM

Nickname: Angel

Review: This might be applicable to the US but it would not work in Europe. People, as a whole, are much more predictable in the States and in Europe it is quite a different story.

Date reviewed: Jan 16, 2006 12:06 PM

Nickname: Syed Arfin

Review: Practically speaking this article is an exaggeration of what we can do with mathematical formulas. If all sorts of unpredictable things can be predicted with rational formulas, then we don't have to live to see the future. We can actually calculate it! I have not read these sorts of things even in science fiction books. I think this article gives a great idea to make a science fiction movie at least.

Date reviewed: Jan 16, 2006 8:31 AM

Nickname: rex

Review: I am happy that the article shows respect for the field of mathematics and mathematicians in the business world. However good these models are, I believe that predictions of human consumption/activities will be easier under controlled capitalist conditions with the caveate that once in a while the beast under microscopic watch will start thinking and that's when predictions go out the door. As the article points out: With NSA employing so many brains crunching data the question remains: Where is OBL or how about simpler stock/bond market predictions?

Date reviewed: Jan 16, 2006 12:39 AM