LIMIT
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1914 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Human sciences, Methodology or model |
The farthest boundary or constraint on some process, subsystem or system.
The limit is that which separates a system from its environment, or environmental conditions, in space and/or in time. A limitless system could not be a system at all. Limits may however be elusive in various ways: In space, a system has generally a field of influence whose boundaries are sometimes difficult to establish, and may be variable.
In time, periodical (or a-periodical) variations may expand or contract the limits of a system. The ignorance of this basic feature can be the cause of very serious problems. An example is the imprudent occupation or use of the flood plains in river valleys. Another was the occupancy by uninformed British colonists of Kikuyu highland in Kenya from which Kikuyu people had to retreat after the rinder pest epidemics of the 189O's.