[FRIAM] Any non-biological complex systems?

[Steven A Smith]

SG

I think of this particular exercise as a deliberate sampling/searching 
of the infinite (or staggeringly large) phase space of a system as you 
described it earlier.   Since you invoke "random systems along with 
random models", I think I therefore mean my System to be a system of 
systems from which you randomly select promising examples?

SS


On 5/28/17 11:00 AM, Stephen Guerin wrote:
> Though there are times, like in the context of machine learning, when 
> we program algorithms to define ensembles of random systems along with 
> ensembles of random models and select amongst them based on how well 
> they fit observed data to find novel explanations for data for uses in 
> prediction or classification. This might be related to past 
> discussions on abductiion at FRIAM. Genetic Programming would be a 
> related example.
>
> Even though the systems in this case are defined randomly, given that 
> they are selected for against some fitness function, the final systems 
> used would probably still not constitute "arbitrary".
> _______________________________________________________________________
> Stephen.Guerin at Simtable.com <mailto:stephen.guerin at simtable.com>
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> On Sun, May 28, 2017 at 10:39 AM, Stephen Guerin 
> <stephen.guerin at simtable.com <mailto:stephen.guerin at simtable.com>> wrote:
>
>         So, what constitutes a system is arbitrary? In the mind of the
>         beholder?
>
>         I remember when we used to argue about this at The Complex.
>
>         I always wanted to argue that a system is in some sense
>         “self-bounding”.  It consists of a group of entities that are
>         interacting more intimately with one another than they are
>         with entities outside the system.
>
>
>
>     In the context of complex systems research, a *system* is an
>     abstraction of a set of connected components and its boundary. The
>     system's boundary can be defined as open, closed or isolated to
>     flows of quantities of energy, mass, information, symbols etc.
>     Defining information is a different thread ;-)
>
>     A *model* is the mathematical/computational formalization of the
>     system.
>
>     /Is what constitutes a system arbitrary?/
>     George Box famously said "all models are wrong, but some are
>     useful <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_models_are_wrong>".
>     Given that models are formalizations of systems and if arbitrary
>     means: "based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any
>     reason or system.", I would say researchers use reason and
>     systemic thought to develop "useful" system descriptions. So,
>     system descriptions are not arbitrary. They are designed to be
>     useful for the question being asked. No system description nor
>     model can answer all questions - they are specifically designed
>     for a problem at hand.
>
>     Relatedly, a*simulation,* in the way we use it, is a single
>     instance of a model run based on initializing  a model's
>     parameters computing next states to observe its behavior/dynamics.
>
>     The *phase space* is the behavior of the model over all possible
>     input states.
>
>
>
>
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