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.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

ENVIRONMENT (Stochastic) 1)3)

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Environment whose characteristics are partially random for the system that depends on it.

Such a situation considerably diminishes the predictive ability of the system, which must then possess a quite higher variety (ASHBY), better countervailing reserves (VENDRYES), or a better organizational closure (MATURANA and VARELA).

According to M.P. SCHUTZENBERGER, in such a case: "…the optimal strategy is just the simple tactic of attempting to do one's best on a purely local basis" (1969, p.211). One could add… "on the basis of a short term evaluation".

The random character of the environment can be reduced in some cases by a better input of information, which can be obtained by the use of better sensors, captors or depictors. More adequate models are also very helpful.

A totally or excessively random environment would not allow for the survival of any 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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