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Abigail Jacobs

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Revision as of 04:46, 1 June 2010 by Azj (talk | contribs) (New page: Hello! Jumping on the bandwagon... I'm currently finishing my junior year at Northwestern University, double majoring in math and Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences.^ I'm from t...)
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Hello! Jumping on the bandwagon...

I'm currently finishing my junior year at Northwestern University, double majoring in math and Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences.^

I'm from the Boston area (go Red Sox), and as such, I have a very good sense of direction unless we use any of the terms: North, South, East, or West. I like Chicago, but the streets cross at right angles and it's oppressively flat here. Santa Fe appears to be quite the opposite; I am very pleased with this development.

I take coffee and desserts very seriously. I like hiking, short fiction, farmer's markets, and mornings. I'll be rooting for Argentina and Spain in the World Cup. I usually go by Abbie.


background

I found my way to complex systems around the end of my freshman year - through my dorm, coincidentally - and when I came here I didn't know what complex systems were, much less that we had a center of those people here. I've been working with Uri Wilensky and his group (which is also to say, among other things, the nice people who bring you NetLogo) since then.

I had also been discovering that the methods in my program (game theory, econometrics) were interesting, but didn't seem like enough; I've since realized the notable lack of the word 'computation' was my main disappointment. My senior thesis will be something computation related, likely done jointly through math and computational linguistics.

I've been drifting at a nice pace towards computer science, and I'm looking to go more in directions like that for grad school.


interests

I care about problems of big data. As a result, I get excited about networks and other interesting systems of representation, but also finding problems with the way we use and measure with them, and meaningful ways to combine them.

I'm most interested in applications to information, human and social systems.

I'm also interested in design - from one direction, I did many years, including into college, in yearbook - including representation and visualization. I like reading about data visualization.


definition

I like to call myself a "math person who is interested in complex systems." (Alternatively, a cheerleader for the interdisciplinary.) When I grow up, I think I want to be a complex systems person who likes math.

My lab is technically a joint group across the learning sciences and computer science. This is the cause of many identity issues.


^ Technically this requires also majoring in something in the social sciences. Instead, the official, technical administrative term for how I am meeting that requirement is "something vaguely cohesive relating to computer science, cognitive science, and complex systems." While I'm still waiting for the paperwork to go through, I have been assured that this will All Work Out.