CODING (Selective)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 470 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
Mechanism or device through which only some specific inputs are recognized as compatible with the system and thus accepted.
According to D. KATZ and R.L. KAHN: “Through the coding process the blooming, buzzing confusion of the world is simplified into a few meaningful and simplified categories for a given system. The nature of the functions performed by the system determines its coding mechanisms, which in turn perpetuate this type of functioning” (1969, p.96).
The basic coding of any system is defined by the characteristics of its original constitution (See: Archetype)
Moreover, coding acts as a powerful constraint, limitative of the numerous possible disturbances brought by the environmental variability. However, there is a price to be paid, i.e. the impossibility for the system to perceive more than a small fraction of its environment.
Man solved partly this problem by creating codes of coding, as for example those which allow for the indirect perception (by their effects upon readable codes) of numerous radiations or microscopic objects or very distant astronomical objects.