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

MESSAGE 1)2)3)

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"A set of one or more signs intended by its producer to evoke a response either in another or in himself" (R.L. ACKOFF & F. EMERY, 1972, p.176).

"A scaled and integrated signal which has significance or meaning for either the transmitter in transmitted messages or the receiver in received messages" (Ibid, p.272).

Both definitions are very general, in a systemic sense: a message is anything that transmits information of any kind (positional, genetic' through gesture, iconic, verbal, symbolic,etc…).

J.de ROSNAY states: "A message is composed of Signals, signs or symbols assembled according to a code" and adds: "A set of messages and codes constitutes a language… The message emitted from a source is codified and next, transmitted through a channel…"

Moreover: "… perturbations interfering within the channel, which are called noise, may alter the messages and modify their significance" (1975, p.168-9).

Noise may even turn them incomprehensible. But in many cases, they can be recuperated by adequate filtering.

Messages can be compressed, by eliminating redundancy, but with an increased risk to their intelligibility due to perturbating noise (D. RUELLE, 1991, p. 175).

It is interesting to observe that, while a 100% redundant message carries no information at all, a 100% original message, would not be intelligible, save if it conveyed implicit connotations. Both types are very difficult to produce in practice.

For example, the totally imaginary and senseless word "facrupto" can at least be written in Latin alphabet, tentatively pronounced as an English, or French, or Spanish word… and may even in the future become a known example of 100% original non intelligible information!

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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