HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT TO MEASURE?

10/8/97


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Table of Contents

HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT TO MEASURE?

THE LAW OF THE INSTRUMENT

THE EVOLUTION OF MEASUREMENT

THE EVOLUTION OF MEASUREMENT

MEASUREMENT AND THEORY IN BIOLOGY

BASIC QUESTIONS

NICHOLAS RASHEVSKY (1899-1984)

ROBERT ROSEN (1934- )

THE SCIENCE OF METHOD OR THE SCIENCE OF CONTENT?

THE “SYSTEMNESS” OF VARIOUS DISCIPLINES (John Casti: Newton, Aristotle, and the Modeling of Living Systems

JOHN HORGAN, SENIOR WRITER, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

HORGAN’S VIEW

ROSEN’S ANSWER TO HORGAN

THE SCIENCE OF METHOD OR THE SCIENCE OF CONTENT?

THE ANSWER TO “HOW ?” INVOLVES MECHANISM

THE ANSWER TO “WHY?”: THE FOUR “BECAUSES”

CAN WE RELATE THESE?

THE THESIS

THE MODELING RELATION

THE MODELING RELATION

THE MODELING RELATION

WHERE IS MEASUREMENT IN THE MODELING RELATION?

THE MODELING RELATION

MORE ON THE MODELING RELATION

THE NEWTONIAN MODEL

THE PRICE OF EMPIRACISM IS REDUCTIONISM

NATURAL VS FORMAL SYSTEMS

COMPLEXITY

COMPLEXITY VS COMPLICATION

COMPLEXITY VS COMPLICATION

ORGANISMS ARE NOT MECHANISMS

SUBJECT AND OBJECT IN SCIENCE

A BIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO NEWTON’S PARADIGM

THE van der WAALS EQUATION

THE van der WAALS EQUATION: INTERPRETATION

THE van der WAALS EQUATION: INTERPRETATION

THE van der WAALS EQUATION: INTERPRETATION

CAUSALITY AND THE NEWTONIAN PARADIGM

CAUSALITY AND THE NEWTONIAN PARADIGM

CAUSALITY AND COMPLEXITY

WHAT IS A MACHINE?

PARTS ARE OBTAINED BY FRAGMENTING OR FRACTIONATING A SYSTEM

FUNCTIONAL COMPONENTS

EXAMPLE: TV SET

THE FUNCTIONAL COMPONENTS ARE NOT A DIRECT EXPRESSION OF A PARTICULAR SET OF PARTS

THE “BOTTOMS UP” VIEW

FUNCTIONAL COMPONENTS IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS

COMPONENTS DO NOT MAP TO STRUCTURE IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS

AN ACTIVE SITE

AN ACTIVE SITE

AN ACTIVE SITE

AN ACTIVE SITE

AN ACTIVE SITE

THE PROBLEM OF TIME

AN EXAMPLE: DISCRETE VS CONTINUOUS TIME

ANOTHER EXAMPLE: SUBSTRATE INHIBITION KINETICS IN A REACTION-DIFFUSION SYSTEM

WE KNOW WHY DYNAMICS AS WE KNOW IT DOESN’T WORK

A LESSON FROM CHAOTICS

THE DOUBLE SCROLL TIMECOURSE

THE DOUBLE SCROLL ATTRACTOR

CAVEATS IN THE PAPER

A NEW DYNAMICS?

ROSEN’S M-R MODEL

WHAT DOES THIS TELL US?

Author: Donald C. Mikulecky

Email: mikulecky@gems.vcu.edu

Home Page: http://views.vcu.edu/~mikuleck/