I Concede Defeat
I have had an ongoing debate with my dad about the value of deterministic modeling of complex systems, like populations and economies, for example. After spending a couple hours playing with the Lotka-Volterra differential equations (for predator-prey interactions) and recently learning the specific factors and Heckscher-Ohlin models of international trade, I am becoming more and more convinced that it is all pretty worthless. All of these models are fun and interesting in the abstract sense, but their accuracy isn't a whole lot better than the flip of a coin. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to determine the actual effect of individual parameters on the system as a whole, even with techniques such as multiple regression. I think I'll stick to things that are easier to succeed at.
I agree adam, the Lotka-Volterra and Heckscher-Ohlin models are trash. Other retared models include the Corbett-Suxit, Sanders-Flanders, Khalid-Lickman, and AllisonRox-MeSox models. Have you ever tried the Tainted model though? It's SO useful! It works for pretty much any situation and once I ran it to predict the blood splater patter from an exploding whale carcass and it was 98% accurate! You should definetly check it out cause modeling is basically heaven trapped, decoded and chained into your computer, where it can never escape. (Ask El Corbetta or T-sizzle about The Whale)
I agree adam, the Lotka-Volterra and Heckscher-Ohlin models are trash. Other retared models include the Corbett-Suxit, Sanders-Flanders, Khalid-Lickman, and AllisonRox-MeSox models. Have you ever tried the Tainted model though? It's SO useful! It works for pretty much any situation and once I ran it to predict the blood splater patter from an exploding whale carcass and it was 98% accurate! You should definetly check it out cause modeling is basically heaven trapped, decoded and chained into your computer, where it can never escape. (Ask El Corbetta or T-sizzle about The Whale)
I've actually had many problems using the Tainter model. It takes up too much energy and time on pointless variables like soccer, and always tries to do the exact same thing as the Corbett model, with substandard results.
As for exploding whales, look it up on Wikipedia.
"the Tainter model... always tries to do the exact same thing as the Corbett model, with substandard results."
I'm gonna go shoot myself, thanks Ted.