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

NON-ERGODICITY 1)2)4)

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The characteristic of a non-strictly deterministic system which offers only long-term non-repetitive behavior to the observer.

According to K. KRIPPENDORFF this situation involves only "transient states which are unique,… or transition probabilities (that) are so variable that there are not enough observations available to ascertain them" (1986, p.53). While both types of situations are very different, they are practically undistinguishable in most cases.

And: "Evolution and social processes are inherently non-ergodic. To understand non-ergodic behavior requires either reference to the underlying organization of the system exhibiting it or the study of a large sample of systems of the same kind" (p.53).

The precise limits of ergodicity have been better defined by the use of LYAPOUNOV's exponents (in theoretical modeling at least). Moreover, the perspective on non-ergodicity is now modified by chaos theory and its reference to the oblivion of initial states, as well as by dissipative structuration.

As to social systems, their "underlying organization" is still quite enigmatic, even in terms of networks. It is also practically impossible to study "large samples of systems of the same kind". Non-ergodicity remains a great challenge for systemics.

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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