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

SCALING 2)

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A situation or process in which the smaller scale structure or function is similar to the larger one.

Sir d'ARCY W. THOMPSON established the notion in his book "On growth and form"(1916).

Scaling furnishes the base for self-similarity at different levels and is closely related to fractals. It has been given a precise mathematical meaning through the WEIERSTRASS function and the renormalization group transformation.

B. MANDELBROT observes: "Scaling is… an ancient idea, thoroughly familiar to LEIBNIZ; and the scientific application of scaling is the work of many hands" (1982, p.108). He cites Julian HUXLEY's allometry; the work of Lewis FRY RICHARDSON in turbulence theory and the urbanists' central place theory.

According to J. GLEICK "…fractal scaling (is) not just common but universal in morphogenesis"(1987, p.110).

It provides a mode of space occupation allowing for optimum fine structuration at any level.

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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