SCALING PRINCIPLE
Charles François (2004). SCALING PRINCIPLE, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(2): 2932.
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2932 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
B. MANDELBROT distinguishes two different aspects of the scaling principle:
- “A. Scaling principle of natural geometry: To assume that small and large features are identical except for scale is often a useful approximation in science.
- “B. Scaling principle of mathematical geometry: To limit oneself to sets wherein small and large features are identical except for scale is often a convenient procedure in geometry.
He adds: “Part of my work consists in viewing B as having provided a collection of answers without questions and in setting them to work on the questions without answers summarized under A.
- “The only fairly wide justification for A is that any sum of many effects satisfying a ”central limit theorem“ is scaling. This statement is, of course, too loose to be provable, yet a prudent addition of natural assumptions makes it into provable theorems or plausible conjectures” (1982, p.96).