State of Craft

Agent-based modeling is a flexible and intuitive approach that is close to both data and theories, which gives it a special position in the majority of scientific communities. Agent models are as much tools of understanding, exploration and adaptation as they are media for interdisciplinary exchange. It is in this kind of framework that this book is situated, beginning with agent-based modeling of spatialized phenomena with a methodological and practical orientation. Through a governing example, taking inspiration from a real problem in epidemiology, this book proposes, with pedagogy and economy, a guide to good practices of agent modeling. The reader will thus be able to understand and put the modeling into practice and acquire a certain amount of autonomy.The first decade of the 21st century was a time of huge change. As globalization became a day-to-day reality, a small group of people turned away from the ready-made, mass-produced culture that had been so prevalent since the 1950s, and found instead a means of self-expression through handmade and recycled objects. Starting with knitting, the craft revolution revived the dying arts of crochet, embroidery, bricolage and macrame, and slowly gained confidence and momentum, seeping from the fringes of society into the mainstream. VictoriaWoodcock and Ziggy Hanaor collaborated on Making Stuff, one of the first alternative craft books to hit the shelves back in 2005. State of Craft shakes things up once again, taking a glossy, sexy approach to the subject. The book features interviews and contributions from all the hottest craft megastars including Tatty Devine, Urban Cross Stitch, Prick Your Finger and DIY Couture. Clearly explained, step-by-step craft ideas range from homemade underwear to pompom headbands and pincushions made from vintage crockery. Craft has inspired a whole generation of hipsters, and has come a long way in the past ten years. State of Craft is here to bring it all up to date.