BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

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COLLECTIONS 2)

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The status of collections of objects as related to systemic concepts is somewhat ambiguous (R. PATON, 2000, p. 147-159)

There are different types of collections, reflected in collective terms.

A heap of sand has merely vague systemic undertones, and this only since it has become used in relation with chaotic dynamics, unstable equilibrium and power laws. In these cases the systemic behavior of the collection is generally implicit and manifests itself through fleeting episodes.

A swarm of locusts or a school of fishes, or a colony of ants already show more constant common behavior, corresponding to variable degrees of organization emerging of reciprocal constraints.

A similar type or more or less coherent systemic organization appears in collections of humans when not very permanent: conferences or congresses for example.

Biology offers us examples of collections which have an organizing power within complex systems: the genome seems a clear case.

In short, collections seem to be a kind of prerequisite situation or state, while their systemic value depends on the nature- and in cases, the evolution (see for ex. Dictyostelium discoideum) of the relationships among the elements.

→ Stigmergy; Zero system

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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