SYSTEMS KNOWLEDGE
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3470 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
The body of concepts, principles, laws, methods and models that aim at the better understanding of complex concrete or abstract wholes.
As observed by G. KLIR, there is a progressive accretion of such elements going on since 1948 (with the first von NEUMANN, WIENER and SHANNON's research) (1991, p.219).
KLIR states that there are two basic ways to obtain systems knowledge:
- “mathematically derived knowledge”, with the progressive emergence of formalisms specifically adapted to the study of complex systems“ (numerous examples in this encyclopedia).
- “experimentally derived systems knowledge… obtained by performing and analyzing experiments with systems simulated on a computer or, possibly, in some other way”.
KLIR believes that: “The computer plays undoubtedly the most important role in this respect and it is perfectly proper to view it as the systems science laboratory” (p.219-20). This will probably become still truer with connection machines and highly parallel ones.
However great care should be taken not to “artificialize” real situations were human observers and actors may introduce values, norms, motivations, prejudices, etc… practically impossible to translate in bits and bytes.