TOF once listened to a discussion between Stan Schmidt, then editor of hard SF mag ANALOG, and George Scithers, then-editor of fantasy-horror mag WEIRD TALES. George told Stan that he did not think it was possible to write a story that would be acceptable to both Analog and Weird Tales.
TOF took this as a sort of challenge and wrote the story that appears today on the PREVIEW page: "Dragons." It is a story based on ecological predator-prey ratios and, well, read it. I sent it to Stan who said he would have bought it save that he had just bought another story with a similar theme (sic!) So we sent it to George, who bought it, thus demonstrating that it was possible to write a story acceptable to both mags. Although somewhat off the median in both cases. Heh.
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Years ago I taught a course that included making computer models of various situations. As an example, I put together a model I called Foxes, Rabbits and Grass. Grass grows at an autonomous rate (I ignored weather), and is eaten by rabbits at a rate proportional to the number of rabbits. Rabbits multiply at a rate proportional to their numbers, minus those eaten by foxes and minus those who starve if grass is inadequate. Foxes eat rabbits and grow at a rate proportional to their numbers, the number of rabbits available as food, and minus those who starve if there aren't enough rabbits. I put quite a bit of effort into trying to get the rates in reasonable accord with reality. It was interesting to see the way the various populations could crash if one or another got too large (usually because of initial conditions).
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