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

NODE 1)2)

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A connected spot or element in a graph or in a network.

Atoms in a complex molecule, words in a language, people in an organization and generally any elements more or less selectively interconnected with others, become nodes, i.e. add positional values to their proper nature.

H.M. PAYNTER thus explains the properties of the nodes: "Most generally they might be unlabeled and therefore uniform and undistinguishable. However, in any directed graph, some of the branches incident on a given node will be directed toward it, others away. But it will always be observed that for unlimited richness of structure all graph systems must have at least one (type of) node with three or more branches, and that if the graph is directed, at least two branches must be directed toward this node. Moreover, as the American philosopher and logician C. S. PEIRCE discovered nearly a century ago, but one triadic node-type, with two in-branches and one outbranch is necessary for infinite variety of structure" (1968, p.76).

→ "Node (Triadic)"

This node model does now appear as absolutely fundamental for the understanding of neural nets, which in turn are basic models for any interpretation of complex systems formed by numerous interacting elements (each of which can be considered a node). On the other hand, PEIRCE'S model, which is the most elemental summation device, anticipated, for instance, the Mac CULLOCH-PITTS neural transmission model.

Complexity of networks grows factorially in relation to the number of their nodes and the connexions between these.

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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