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

INFORMATION COMPRESSION 2)3)

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J. S. WICKEN writes: "Basic to the definition of order is informational compressibility" (1979, p.139).

Unless we find a way to condensate the information content of a system, the only model of it is itself, which means that our rational understanding of it is nil.

WICKEN explains: "Two modes of information compression are possible. One is algorithmic. This applies to cases in which patterned relationships appear in a sequence that allows element-by-element specification to be replaced by a program of instructions for its assembly" (WICKEN adopts thus G. CHAITIN's concept of algorithmic compression of information, also known as KOLMOGOROV-CHAITIN complexity) (1975, p.47-52).

"For example, the sequence (1,2,3,4) possesses a higher degree of order than does the sequence (1,3,2,4) because a briefer algorithm is required to generate it.

"The second is probabilistic, and the compression is measured by the relative values of real complexity and maximum conceivable complexity. This mode of compression applies to stochastic processes in which (a) the symbols are not equiprobable and/or (b) the occurrence of one symbol in a sequence influences the probability of occurrence of other symbols" (p.139).

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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