Observations of apparently random phenomena are commonplace in science. However, randomness and Christian belief are often seen as incompatible, both by naturalists and by theists. This article argues that the scientific concept of randomness and the historic Christian understanding of God’s nature are compatible. It argues that the existence of randomness cannot be settled scientifically; neve...

This document presents the results of the seminar “Conceptual Architecture Patterns” of the winter term 2002 in the Hasso–Plattner–Institute. It is a compilation of the student’s elaborations dealing with some conceptual architecture patterns which can be found in literature. One important focus laid on the runtime structures and the presentation of the patterns.

We argue that visual, analogical representations of mathematical concepts can be used by automated theory formation systems to develop further concepts and conjectures in mathematics. We consider the role of visual reasoning in human development of mathematics, and consider some aspects of the relationship between mathematics and the visual, including artists using mathematics as inspiration fo...

The gestures children spontaneously produce when explaining a task predict whether they will subsequently learn that task. Why? Gesture might simply reflect a child's readiness to learn a particular task. Alternatively, gesture might itself play a role in learning the task. To investigate these alternatives, we experimentally manipulated children's gesture during instruction in a new mathematic...

In the search for principles of pattern generation in complex biological systems, an operational approach is presented that embraces both theory and experiment. The central mathematical concepts of self-organization in nonequilibrium systems (including order parameter dynamics, stability, fluctuations, and time scales) are used to show how a large number of empirically observed features of temp...

Cooper and Willis (2003) is the latest in a sequence of criticisms of our methodology for estimating aggregate nonlinearities when microeconomic adjustment is lumpy. Their case is based on “reproducing” our main findings using artificial data generated by a model where microeconomic agents face quadratic adjustment costs. That is, they supposedly find our results where they should not be found....

To prevent their theories from becoming as unhinged as the Phillips curve, modern macroeconomic theorists conventionally build from microeconomic fundamentals. Recent empirical studies of macroeconomic phenomena that heavily use data from individual producers, exemplified by the work of Davis, Haltiwanger, and Schuh (1996), have convinced empirical macroeconomic practitioners they should do the...

My comments may be summarised by an inversion of Solow’s famous comment that the information technology productivity miracle can be seen everywhere but in the productivity statistics. By contrast, the Australian productivity miracle can be seen only in the productivity statistics. The lesson of everyday life is that people are running harder to stay in the same place. More formally, an increase...