Pyro's Excel Goodies

[alexander]

bow to the excel master....

i'll test them in open office in the morning tomorrow, gotta run to class, peace :P

[Symbology]

What was the inspiration / reason for the Ocean simulator?

In my first run, my poor sharks were isolated and became extinct in nothing flat. (They died looking for food I believe.) So it was interesting to see that the fish and plants still maintained a harmonic.

I had never thought about how populations in nature likely are on such a clearly sinusoidal pattern. While watching the actual locations it is not nearly so obvious. It just looks like "business as usual". Though I am able to see at times that one or the other population is growing larger.

I wonder what future patterns we will see in ourselves when all humans are RFID tagged.

[Pyrotex]

Originally Posted by Symbology

What was the inspiration / reason for the Ocean simulator?

I was reading the book "Chaos--The Birth of a New Science".
There was a chapter on the inter-dependence of populations and birth rates.
I thought about modeling then, but got stuck. Years later, I attacked it again just to see if I could. I could.

Yeah, on rare occassions, the sharks starve. The reason is that I can't figure out how to program them with a sense of smell.

[Pyrotex]

This one is esoteric, abstruse and arcane. Other than that, it should be very useful!
It is a Parameter Index Constructor.

You know how you build all these equations into a really complex spreadsheet and then you have a problem with one, say, it's called fotjpi2, and you need to know every cell where that named parameter is used? Does that experience ring a bell? You ever have that problem? Well, do you, Bubbie?

I guess not. Well... sometimes, I do. Here is a solution of sorts. It is a method whereby you can get Excel itself to build you an index of all your parameters with addresses of every location where an equation uses them.

Sound like fun?

I guess you have to be there.

[Pyrotex]

This is a simple one, and yet chillingly profound.
It is the Cosmic Font of Random Truth.

Impressed, aren't you? It uses simple equations and functions that manipulate text rather than numbers.

[Symbology]

Originally Posted by Pyrotex

I was reading the book "Chaos--The Birth of a New Science".
There was a chapter on the inter-dependence of populations and birth rates.
I thought about modeling then, but got stuck. Years later, I attacked it again just to see if I could. I could.

Nice. I appreciate the concrete lesson!

Originally Posted by Pyrotex

Yeah, on rare occassions, the sharks starve. The reason is that I can't figure out how to program them with a sense of smell.

Hint: Smell generally comes from something leaving (an apparently hidden) trail.
As in "I smell a rat" or "I smell trouble" or "something smells fishy here"

"Decay" is another handy word. Although it takes more memory of course.

[Pyrotex]

This one is oh, so simple. Basically, it just iteratively calculates a simple equation 1,000 times and plots the results. But it allows you to stare directly into the eyes of Chaos itself.

I'm not kidding. Really. I mean it. I'm dead serious about this.

Yeah, "Chaos", the real thing. The mathematical entity. This equation comes right out of the book, "Chaos--The Birth of a New Science". Spend enough time with this spreadsheet and you will know Chaos intimately. Assuming you're still sane.

Such a dirt simple equation. It should create such dirt simple plots.
Really.
There's no rational reason for it to suddenly start giving you two solutions instead of one. Then four solutions. Then eight. Then... Then...

Then...

Then... omigod... OMIGOD... IT'S... CHAOS!!!!!!

No, really... I'm dead serious...

[Jay-qu]

Excellent Pyro, I remember being thrilled with one of your 'chaos generators' you posted a while back

Question can the drunkards walk to likened to brownian motion?

[Symbology]

Originally Posted by Pyrotex

This one is oh, so simple. Basically, it just iteratively calculates a simple equation 1,000 times and plots the results. But it allows you to stare directly into the eyes of Chaos itself.

I'm not kidding. Really. I mean it. I'm dead serious about this.

Yeah, "Chaos", the real thing. The mathematical entity. This equation comes right out of the book, "Chaos--The Birth of a New Science". Spend enough time with this spreadsheet and you will know Chaos intimately. Assuming you're still sane.

Such a dirt simple equation. It should create such dirt simple plots.
Really.
There's no rational reason for it to suddenly start giving you two solutions instead of one. Then four solutions. Then eight. Then... Then...

Then...

Then... omigod... OMIGOD... IT'S... CHAOS!!!!!!

No, really... I'm dead serious...

Interesting how there are moments of calm in the storm like going from 3.9601 to 3.9602

[Pyrotex]

Originally Posted by Jay-qu

...Question can the drunkards walk to likened to brownian motion?

Thank you.
Yes.
An odd result of statistics as applied to the drunkard's walk: the average distance the drunkard actually travels from the starting point after N random steps is around the square root of N.
Hmmm.
Makes you think, don't it?