BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

EXTRAPOLATION 1)

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The inference of forecasts or unknown information from historical trends.

Extrapolation is, from the systemic viewpoint, one of the most risky method at hand. It supposes the unperturbed continuity of existing trends, and even the correctness of the evaluation made of the latter.

It implies the beliefs: 1) that the relationships between relevant variables will remain stable (i.e. that the system is basically linear); 2) that long or extra-long trends are effectively known (f. ex. the multi-secular oscillations in climate); 3) that no ignored or new factor could influence the system (f. ex. the appearance of sporadic and ulterior runaway resistance of insects to insecticides).

Catastrophe theory, as well as chaos theory and dissipative structuration show that extrapolation has very narrow limits as a predictive technique.

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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