180
Engineering Systems Integration
Endnotes
1. Numbers for the sake of numbers can invariably and conveniently be expressed
in some form of statistics. That averages and distributions represent our world
is presumptuous. This may seem polemic, but it is not intended to disparage
mathematics. In fact, many of my best friends are numbers. They are who they
are and represent what they say. However, not for expediency, not for deference
to the trappings of intellectualism, and not for pretence of elegance should
thinking be so restricted at the onset of a quest for knowledge. When the hardships of cognitive toil have fallen to gumption, when all that could be wrong is
found wrong, and when there is no inconsistency of a worldview, then the journey must begin again with the elegance of mathematics. If one’s view was that
events are causal and objects and processes are necessary and sufficient, mechanisms would be deterministic. According to this view, however contrived or
misguided, there is no chaos, no aggregate, nor a strictly summative notion.
There is no like-kind object, and no two objects would necessarily be identical.
To this end, the universe is a library filled with information, awaiting sublime,
correct reasoning. To this end, there are systems and there is integration.
2. The trade practiced by researchers is to apply notional contributions to theory
that reflect established and accepted principles of formal and systematic investigation or examination. The result is an effort to persuade others and bring
forth new knowledge that is enacted through the processes and functions of
enquiry—the acts and mechanisms of asking and answering questions. Yet
what results from enquiry is a discord between theory and fact—an ever-present misalignment of theory, principles, and observations. Often this disagreement is based on interpretations of patterns, behaviors, and properties. At issue
is our explanation of phenomena that is derived by postulating principles, and
inferring laws. We seek truths through enquiry. But an occasional result of
enquiry is a theory that explains certain phenomena and but challenges some of
the means of actualizing knowledge. The impact of enquiry can be said to relegate the dogma of present theory to the history of future inferences.
References
Aerts, D. 1983. The description of one and many physical systems. Proceedings of the
25th Cours de Perfectionnement de l’Association Vaudoise des Chercheurs en Physique.
Les Foadements de la Mécanique Quantique, Montana.
Antonsson, E. K. 2001. Imprecision in Engineering Design. Pasadena, CA: California
Institute of Technology.
Ashby, F. G. 1962. Principles of the self-organizing system. Principles of SelfOrganization: Transactions of the University of Illinois Symposium. London:
Pergamon Press.
Ashby, W. R. 1957. Introduction to Cybernetics. London: Chapman & Hall Ltd.
Engineering Systems Integration
Endnotes
1. Numbers for the sake of numbers can invariably and conveniently be expressed
in some form of statistics. That averages and distributions represent our world
is presumptuous. This may seem polemic, but it is not intended to disparage
mathematics. In fact, many of my best friends are numbers. They are who they
are and represent what they say. However, not for expediency, not for deference
to the trappings of intellectualism, and not for pretence of elegance should
thinking be so restricted at the onset of a quest for knowledge. When the hardships of cognitive toil have fallen to gumption, when all that could be wrong is
found wrong, and when there is no inconsistency of a worldview, then the journey must begin again with the elegance of mathematics. If one’s view was that
events are causal and objects and processes are necessary and sufficient, mechanisms would be deterministic. According to this view, however contrived or
misguided, there is no chaos, no aggregate, nor a strictly summative notion.
There is no like-kind object, and no two objects would necessarily be identical.
To this end, the universe is a library filled with information, awaiting sublime,
correct reasoning. To this end, there are systems and there is integration.
2. The trade practiced by researchers is to apply notional contributions to theory
that reflect established and accepted principles of formal and systematic investigation or examination. The result is an effort to persuade others and bring
forth new knowledge that is enacted through the processes and functions of
enquiry—the acts and mechanisms of asking and answering questions. Yet
what results from enquiry is a discord between theory and fact—an ever-present misalignment of theory, principles, and observations. Often this disagreement is based on interpretations of patterns, behaviors, and properties. At issue
is our explanation of phenomena that is derived by postulating principles, and
inferring laws. We seek truths through enquiry. But an occasional result of
enquiry is a theory that explains certain phenomena and but challenges some of
the means of actualizing knowledge. The impact of enquiry can be said to relegate the dogma of present theory to the history of future inferences.
References
Aerts, D. 1983. The description of one and many physical systems. Proceedings of the
25th Cours de Perfectionnement de l’Association Vaudoise des Chercheurs en Physique.
Les Foadements de la Mécanique Quantique, Montana.
Antonsson, E. K. 2001. Imprecision in Engineering Design. Pasadena, CA: California
Institute of Technology.
Ashby, F. G. 1962. Principles of the self-organizing system. Principles of SelfOrganization: Transactions of the University of Illinois Symposium. London:
Pergamon Press.
Ashby, W. R. 1957. Introduction to Cybernetics. London: Chapman & Hall Ltd.