The entropy of complex dynamic systems

Abstract

The present paper aims to clarify the role which entropy plays in complex dynamic systems in general and in ecosystems in particular. It outlines the relations between entropy, noise and uncertainty and emphasizes that there are no noiseless channels and that every noisy channel is also an energy sink. I n modeling simple dynamic systems these energy losses may be sufficiently small to be negligible in comparison with other values of interest. But in complex dynamic systems with more than eight channels between the various subsystems, the noise has a tendency to drown out the signals. I n modeling such systems it is therefore necessary to specify the noise level and one can not assume that the cumulative errors are negligible.The paper concludes with an exploration of an alternative, organismic approach to the stabilization of the world ecosystem, differing from that of the MIT group in advocating different stabilization levels for different cultures. oc3

The metatheoretical bases of social psychological theory

“…When considered as a set of interacting subsystems, entrophy or noise common to all communication models can be assumed. For example, the noise in any communication link between two subsystems acts as a multiplier for the noise in any other linkage (Taschdjian, 1974). Further, any model of a system or subsystem is indeterminant insofar as some of the system's interaction with "extraneous" variables is necessarily omitted from an abstract model (Rosen, 1977).…”

Two utopias and their hybrids

“…The "carbon cycle" was therefore in disequilibrium and if man, nowadays, returns carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels, he is merely feeding back what was there in the first place. 12 This is merely to show that the concept of a stable ecosystem is a Utopian concept; it does not say anything about the desirability or undesirability of a stable environment from man's point of view. Yet, for most model builders, the notion of stability carries with it the connotation of something good, and that of instability of something bad.…”

Doctor-Patient Communication: A Shift to Problem-Oriented Research

“…Whether the researcher adopts a laws, systems, or rules approach to science, one agreedupon criterion for theoretical development is generality. With nomic universals in the laws approach (Achinstein, 1971), reflexive definition in the systems approach (Taschdjan, 1974), and the explication of generative mechanisms in the rules approach (Cushman, 1975), the emphasis is upon classes, rather than instances of relationships.…”