PROGRAM
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2667 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
1. “A set of code signs that indicate the actions to be performed by a living system or an artefact in order to achieve its purpose” (J.Z. YOUNG, 1974, p.297).
J.Z. YOUNG adds: “In living systems, the aim is the continuation of the individual and/or his programs” (Ibid).
Programs are ordered in the time dimension: their execution is sequential. Moreover, at least parts of the program are recurrent, which leads to autopoiesis and hypercycles.
The future development of a complex program is somehow implicit: complex systems are self-organizing. This is true only — at least until now — for living systems. It seems however that self-organization starting from a set of rules is now becoming a feature of some artifacts. See: “Connection machine”.
In living systems the combinatorics implicit in the program is unavoidedly limited, even if it may be very great. This may be setting limits to learning and even to the lifespan in living systems.