News from Anandavala

Glossary of Core Information System Terms Used at Anandavala

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:27:46 GMT

Information: is structured
discernible difference which manifests within and moves between any
medium that is capable of manifesting two or more distinguishable
observables. Such a medium is termed an
information space.

Information Space:
is any medium that can contain information.
The information content within an
information space is encoded within a
structured field of discernible differences.

Information Content:
is limited by both the information
space's representational resolution and the observer's
perceptual resolution. The lack of perceptual resolution results in
information content that is unavailable,
which is entropy.

Observer:
is a subjective perspective
from which an observable is defined. Also
see computational process and
system.

Subjective Perspective:
is a perspective from which there are other equally valid but
different perspectives. Hence it is a perspective on a context that
only conveys information relative to a
particular observer.

Entropy:
is structured indiscernible difference. It is information
that is unable to be meaningfully discerned.

Communication Process:
is a computational process that
structures the flow of information
between information spaces through
an information channel. The
process may change the representational format but preserves the
information
content. Communication can operate between any information
spaces or within a single information
space. Communication involves encoding information,
transmission, introduced noise from intervening
channels and decoding of information
into observables.

Information Channel: is a
simple information space that
provides a 'pipeline' through which information
flows from one information space to
another.

Observable: is information
that has been discerned and decoded by a computational
process thus resulting in something that has meaning to that
computational process. The
observable is defined from the perspective
of the observer.

Noise: is unstructured discernible
difference. It is information
that is unable to be meaningfully decoded.

Computational Process:
is a communication process that
is structured by information
(the program),
which transforms the communicated
information.
It consists of discrete computation
events. It can manifest and operate within any information
space and often operates within a single information
space to produce a computational
space. All of the above concepts involve some subjective
factor, such as 'discernible' or 'indiscernible' difference,
'observable', observer's
perceptual resolution and 'decoding'. Computation is the
subjective element implied by
all of these subjective
factors. For example, a single stream of information
may be entropy or noise
in relation to one computational process but a different
computational process may discern or decode the information
stream, so in relation to the latter process the stream is
information rather than entropy
or noise. Computation is the active element
within the passive information space;
it discerns the difference, decodes the observables,
and 'experiences' a programmed response that
may change an observable, which is then
encoded and communicated
(perhaps back into a computational
space). Also see observer and system.

Bandwidth:
is the quantity of information that flows
through a information channel
within a given period.

Computation Event:
is a single discrete operation within a computational
process.

Computational Space: is
an information space that is
operated on and animated by a 'resident' computational
process. It may communicate
with other information spaces or
computational spaces via information
channels. It can store and operate on information
content using information
processes.

Program:
is information content within a
computational space that
structures a computational process.

Information Process: is a
dynamic, structured pattern of information
content and program
within a computational space. Also
see system.

Transcendent Context: is
a closed computational space
wherein the perceptual resolution of the computational
process is equal to the representational resolution of the
information space,
so there is zero noise or entropy.
Within this computational space
there is information content
flowing between sub-spaces whilst being transformed by the
computational process. Thus
information objects and information
processes exist within that information
space and are animated by that computational
process thus undergoing coherent change or dynamical evolution.
The transcendent context underlies the existence of an empirical
context. In a transcendent context the only subjective
element is the single computational
process that animates the transcendent computational
space so all subjective
factors are defined from that perspective. There is therefore, in
this context, an uncontested (absolute) perspective from which to
determine all concepts and quantities so this context is considered
to be an objective context
because there are no clashes of perspective so for all intents and
purposes things are how they seem.

Objective Perspective:
is a perspective from which there are NO other valid but different
perspectives. Hence it is a perspective on a context that conveys
information relative to the sole observer
of an information space.

Empirical Context: is a
virtual space represented by information
content and animated by the computational
process within a transcendent
context. The empirical context is defined from the perspective of
information processes within the
transcendent computational
process. From within the empirical context a transcendent
information process is conceived
of as a system. The systems
have varying perceptual resolutions and are connected into a complex
network of interacting systems so from each
empirical perspective there is both entropy
and noise. Within this virtual space, from the
subjective empirical
perspective of a system embedded within the
network of systems, there are observables
and observation events. Thus systems
with observable states exist and experience
observation events within that
virtual space. In this context every system has
a subjective perspective from
which its empirical context is defined. There
is therefore, in this context, NO uncontested (absolute) perspective
from which to determine all concepts and quantities; everything is
relative. Because of this the empirical context is considered to be a
subjective context because
there are clashes of perspective and things are not how they seem.
There are many perspectives but they only reveal subjective
empirical observables that are just
partially discerned, partially decoded and largely distorted
interpretations of the absolute underlying transcendent
information.

System: is a transcendent
information process conceived of
from a general empirical
perspective. It is an observable form as
well as an observer
within the empirical
context. In this sense it has an outer
aspect and an inner aspect. It is a
participant in empirical
dynamics which are just the transcendent
dynamics conceived of from an empirical
perspective. A system is an empirical
subject and has some perspective from which various concepts and
quantities can be defined, such as information,
entropy,
noise and so on. A system is one participant
amongst many within an empirical
context, hence its definitions of concepts and quantities
is only relative to its perspective. The concept system
exists only within the empirical
context, when in the transcendent
context they are conceived of as information
processes.

Inner Aspect: of a system
is the operation of the transcendent
computational process as it
animates the system. It is conceived of from an
empirical
perspective as pure awareness, direct experience or proto
consciousness. As systems increase in
complexity the complexity of both inner
and outer aspects increases. What we call
consciousness and mind are complex
inner aspects.

Outer Aspect: is the empirical
observable form of a system's
transcendent information
content. It is a subjective
view that depends on the particular observer's
perspective. It is an object of perception and is experienced as an
object within the experiential (empirical)
context. It is an output interface by which information
is communicated
to be decoded as observables by other
systems.

Observation Event: is a
single discrete operation of a system's inner
aspect that discerns, decodes and experiences an observable.
This is an experience of present moment awareness but becomes
overlaid with empiricist
interpretation. It is conceived of from an empirical
perspective as a single moment in time and the succession of these
moments combined with the propagation of their information
through information channels
(which serve as memory) results in the empirical
experience of the flow of time.

Interaction: is a communication
process between systems that allows them to
experience each others observables and to
respond by changing their own observables.

Finite & Discrete: is a
proposition that within any realisable information
space there will be a finite number of distinguishable
observables. This would mean that no
manifest form or process (system) within an
empirical
context could be infinitely large,
infinitely small, infinitely
complex or infinitely
detailed. This implies that the empirical
context will be quantised and relativistic. It also
concludes the existence of atomic systems
and precludes the existence of any actual infinity within an
empirical
space. Hence there are a finite number of atomic
systems that exhibit a finite range of discrete observables.

Infinity: Only potential infinity is
possible, for example, the space of all words of any length is
infinitely large but we only ever manifest a finite number of words
at any one time and as the words get longer it gets more difficult to
manifest them so it is fundamentally impossible to manifest an actual
infinity of words. This general principle applies to all information
processes due to their finite &
discrete information spaces,
which result in quantised and relativistic empirical
contexts.

Atomic System: is a system
that has no subsystems. It is an atomic
information process so it has only
a single atomic information
object (observable, outer
aspect) and a single atomic computational
process (observer,
inner aspect). An example of a primitive
system is a single bit in a computer. Its
atomic observable has the state zero or one
and its atomic computational process
is a simple read/write interface with the observable
so that information
can be stored or retrieved from that atomic computational
process. So an atomic system is an atomic
observable as well as an atomic observer
that is only able to discern single atomic observables.
The concept atomic system exists only within
the empirical
context, when in the transcendent
context they are conceived of as atomic information
processes that operate on atomic observables
and participate in complex networks of atomic information
processes within the transcendent
computational space.

Complex System: is the product
of a meta system transition. In
the empirical context it is a system that has
subsystems. It is a complex information
process so it has multiple atomic or complex information
objects (observables, outer
aspects) and multiple atomic or complex computational
processes (observers,
inner aspects). An example of a complex
system is a computer. Its complex observable
form can be in many different states and its complex computational
process can manifest a variety of simple and complex information
processes. So a complex system is a complex
observable as well as a complex observer
that is able to discern multiple simple and complex observables.
A complex system is composed of a network of
interacting subsystems and it participates in a
network of interacting systems to form
supersystems via a process called meta
system transition. The concept complex system
exists only within the empirical
context, when in the transcendent
context they are conceived of as complex information
processes which have no inherent hierarchical structure of
subprocesses within superprocesses, they are just a flat network of
atomic processes.

Meta System Transition (MST): is a process conceived of
from an empirical
perspective whereby a system's limited
perceptual resolution means that incident information
becomes entropy
and the finer detailed observables in a
complex network of systems
are blurred into a macroscopic observable
that appears to the observer
to be a single complex system. Thus it appears that a group of
subsystems have interacted and integrated into
a single complex supersystem. However in the
transcendent context nothing has
fundamentally changed, some interaction
bandwidths may change but there is still
just a field of interacting atomic
systems, only the empirical
observable changes during an MST. Therefore
MST is an empirical perceptual
illusion that causes a system to experience a
complex network of systems as a single complex
system.

SMN related concepts directly extend these general concepts and
will be defined shortly...

Pangea Day and Unified Science

Sun, 11 May 2008 03:44:00 GMT

What's the connection between Pangea
Day and Unified Science?

Firstly, a bit about Pangea Day:

Pangea Day taps the power of film to strengthen tolerance
and compassion while uniting millions of people to build a better
future.

In a world where people are often divided by borders,
difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have
in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that to help people see
themselves in others through the power of film.

On May 10, 2008 Pangea Day sites in Cairo, Kigali,
London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked live
to produce a program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and
uplifting music.

The program will be broadcast live to the world through the
Internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones.

Of course, movies alone can't change the world. But the people
who watch them can. So following May 10, 2008, Pangea Day organizers
will facilitate community-building activities around the world by
connecting inspired viewers with numerous organizations that are
already doing groundbreaking work.

The Power of Understanding

Both believe in the power of understanding. Beings are inherently
good natured and exhibit cruelty only when they are confused
and traumatised. The better one's understanding of a situation the
more appropriate and effective one's participation will be. It is
through communication that we develop mutual understanding.

If we are to have peace we first need a common understanding of
our shared humanity, but this is just a start. First we must expand
our concept of 'us' to include all of humanity, but the universe does
not end there and unless we have a broader sense of 'us' we will
continue to encounter systemic conflict, such as between humanity and
the rest of the ecosystem.

more >

Universal System Integrator

Sat, 10 May 2008 03:46:13 GMT

SMN
can be thought of as a Universal System Integrator that can enter
into any computational space and integrate its various systems and processes
into higher level systems and processes that allow us to interact with the
low-level functionality in more intuitive and complex ways. Hence,
within any electronically controllable environment we could create an
SMN process that integrates that environments systems and processes
into higher-level systems and processes.

more >

What is a definition? How does it relate to meaning?

Fri, 9 May 2008 04:09:01 GMT

Also available as an A4 PDF.

What is a system and why should we care to know?

Wed, 7 May 2008 09:27:37 GMT

What is a System?

A system has two aspects, its
transcendent aspect is as a transitory pattern of transcendent
information that conditions the flow of transcendent information.
When the system is perceived from an empirical perspective by another
system within the common network of interacting systems, then it is
experienced via its observable attributes, which result in
information that flows into the observer system's inputs. This
results in an experience of a manifest form, which is the empirical
aspect.

Subsystems interact to form
supersystems; i.e. patterns dynamically merge to produce larger
patterns. Whilst the transcendent patterns are what they are the
empirical forms exist only in the eye of the beholder. A system may
interact with other systems that are considered to lie 'within'
different supersystems so it may be considered a subsystem of either,
thus there are no absolute system boundaries. Different observers may
observe different interaction channels and thereby resolve different
system boundaries thus they experience very different empirical
forms.

Why should we care to clearly know
what a system is?

We are systems formed out of
interacting subsystems and we interact to form supersystems. All
manifest forms are systems. All events and processes are system
interactions. Our transcendent part we call our 'soul' and our
empirical part we call our 'body'. The empirical universe is a
construct of the experiential aspect of systems and behind this
perceptual veil there is an information theoretic aspect. Some call
this the quantum realm, spiritual realm, Brahman (Vedic), Hundun
(Daoist), Heaven (Christ) and so on.

Everything that is and everything that
happens is the experiential aspect of a unified transcendent process.
This is analogous to the way that a virtual reality is the
experiential aspect of a unified transcendent process.

Understanding the nature of systems
leads us to an understanding of ourselves, of the universe, of what
is happening and how we should respond in order to harmoniously and
effectively participate in the process of evolution that is underway.

What fundamental questions can it
help answer?

A deep understanding of the nature of
systems can help answer all fundamental questions except one, and it
can explain why it cannot answer that one.

There is only one true mystery What
is the true nature of the fundamental reality generative process?
A manifest form cannot approach this via enquiry; e.g. a sentient AI
character in a virtual reality could realise many things about their
situation all the way down to the computational process itself, but
they cannot realise that the computer is a particular machine sitting
in a particular room, they can only ever know the computer from
within. Similarly, we can systematically comprehend all the general
principles of our reality right down to the fundamental reality
generative process and we cannot enquire beyond that.

Holism is a metaphysical paradigm that
focuses on the whole and comprehends the parts as discernible
features objects of perception within the whole. Reductionism
is a metaphysical paradigm that focuses on the many parts and their
interactions and envisages the whole as the product of the many parts
and interactions. Unified system science can comprehend both
paradigms and show how they relate to each other. Similarly it can
unify duality and non-duality. Transcendent and empirical. Subjective
and objective. For these reasons I propose that a unified system
science could provide a useful conceptual framework for the
development of a unified awareness that can flower into a new
consciousness for humanity.

Best Wishes,

John Ringland

System Oriented Modelling Paradigm - Brainstorming notes 03

Sun, 4 May 2008 01:08:38 GMT

Excerpts from brainstorming notes related to
SMNDesignView

For more information on SMN see SMN
on Anandavala.

I am exploring the idea of developing a Netbeans 6.0 module,
either as a plugin or as a rich-client application.

Things to consider:

I need a good vision of what I am building before I start
designing it.

What is it that the SMN functionality seeks to provide the
application user? What will people want the whole application or
plugin to do?

What sorts of things will people want to be able to do with the
GUI and with the model and with the simulation space itself via the
GUI? How best can the GUI facilitate this?

If developed as a plugin then how will the SMN functionality be
integrated into the rest of Netbeans?

If developed as a rich-client application then how will it come
together as a single whole application?

How best to implement the matrix itself? As some kind of table? It
needs to be programmatically controlled and not set in the code
we may want more or less rows or columns, we may want different types
of elements altogether (e.g. instead of text fields they are buttons
perhaps).

The matrix-view is a small window that allows for detailed access,
but for large models we need a lower resolution but broader scope
view, we could have subsystem / supersystem viewing levels for the
matrix. One could view systems at the atomic scale, or as a single
whole system, or at many different levels between these. The designer
can click on systems (either by row, column, vector element or rowOp)
and choose to collapse all sibling subsystem and show only their
supersystem. Or they can drill into a supersystem and show all or
selected subsystems.

The state vector needs to be represented somehow in the
matrix-view so that the system designer can visualise the current
state of the model. The multiple system viewing levels apply to the
state vector as well.

Whether an SM or an SV element, at each level there is some screen
graphic to represent it to the designer. If the element is an atomic
system it shows a text field to display and edit the data. If it is a
conceptual system then there is an icon that displays the subsystems
as small squares within the element.

When the designer double-clicks on an element they drill into the
system and reveal all subsystems. There is also a right-click option
on elements that brings up a dialogue box for selecting which
subsystems to show.

more >

System Oriented Modelling Paradigm - Brainstorming notes 02

Sun, 4 May 2008 01:05:30 GMT

Excerpts from earlier brainstorming notes that
are still relevant

For more information on SMN see SMN
on Anandavala.

In the matrix/vector view the
designer can click on any matrix or vector element or any matrix row
to receive a dialogue presenting a range of ways that they can
interact with that element. E.g. Change an SVElement's data value or
define a rowOp or select a pre-made virtual system from a palette and
deploy that within the model.

There is a palette on the side of the
interface when you click on an SVElement the palette displays the
list of all known components that can usefully go into this element.
When selecting a row it shows all the predefined rowOps. If some
element is already selected the designer can click onto the object
within the palette to insert it into the element. There will be some
means of selecting multiple elements and then clicking on a palette
object.

When the object is inserted into the element the designer can
click on the object to set its properties and attributes. There is
some means to select and deselect systems for viewing. The matrix
and vector adapt accordingly with rows and columns appearing or
disappearing. This gives control over what is shown in the limited
viewing space of the matrix/vector view. For a large model you
couldn't fit it all comfortably into a web browser window and having
to scroll over the whole flat model would be cumbersome and
disorienting. Instead have it so that the view registers with various
systems and synchronises with their state. Only when registered is
there a row/column and vector element for this system.

These
viewer-objects (row/col/svElem) can be arranged in any manner that
suits the designer they can be moved around easily just right-click
on a view-object (i.e. element, row or column) and then click move
to and then click the view object that is in the destination
location and the selected view-object is inserted in the destination
location. The other view-objects adjust around it. In this way the
designer has a controllable view into the model through which they
can edit the model.

As described so far it has no allowance for
coding of new systems but only the reuse and re-configuration of
pre-made sub-systems presented in a context sensitive palette for
insertion into the model and then customisation. If the application is developed as an IDE plugin (e.g. Eclipse, Netbeans, etc) then the IDE allows the designer to code the atomic systems in various programming languages and the SMN plugin can incorporate these into its system palette.

We start with very
simple systems and using these we build more complex systems, which are then added to the palette. Then from these we make even more complex systems and
so on.

If the palette can draw on any web repository of SMN systems
then the range of available sub-systems can grow rapidly through
collective development. www.Anandavala.info can provide an initial open
virtual space and open system repository. People can create and play
with systems in the open virtual space and they can save their
creations to the repository so that other people can reuse them. This
could become an open-system development community (rather than
open-source).

more >

The Ancient Roots of Science

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:00:11 GMT

Quotes from a review of the book Lost Discoveries - http://www.hknet.org.nz/VWH-hidden.html

The "standard model" of the history of science locates its birth around 600 B.C. in ancient Greece, where the dramatis personae typically include Pythagoras, Empedocles, Democritus, Aristotle and other sages, who laid the modern foundation for math and the sciences. It was this foundation, buried during the Middle Ages, that was rediscovered during the Renaissance. What were the peoples of India, Egypt, Mesopotamia, sub-Saharan Africa, China and the Americas doing all this time? "They discovered fire, then called it quits," Teresi observes sarcastically. He admits starting this exercise "with the purpose of showing that the pursuit of evidence of nonwhite science is a fruitless endeavor. . . . Six years later, I was still finding examples of ancient and medieval non-Western science that equaled and often surpassed ancient Greek learning."

The Babylonians developed the Pythagorean theorem at least 1,500 years before Pythagoras was born. Indian mathematicians performed multiplication and algebra, and even ventured toward calculus, a millennium before Europeans. An Arab astronomer, Ibn al-Shatir, spelled out the theory of planetary motion 150 years before Copernicus. The "Mercator projection" was used by Chinese cartographers centuries before the birth of Mercator. In the third century B.C., physicists in China pretty neatly summarized Newton's first law of motion. more >

Travelling on Air

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:34:00 GMT

Check out this new technology about to hit the market...

Air powered cars - http://www.positivenews.org.uk/artman/publish/article_1559.shtml

It is the pressure in the tank that is the energy that drives the car, there is no foreign substance involved, just air.

Any means of increasing the pressure in the tank would be a means of powering the vehicle. For example, a small on-board motor or perhaps even the shock-absorbers and air-vents could contribute.

System Oriented Modelling Paradigm

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:32:08 GMT

Here's a posting to let you know what
I'm up to lately. Like I said in the post on What
exactly is SMN and how does it connect with other technologies?
I've been focussing on concrete implementations lately, rather than
on discussions. One project was an artistic collaboration with
Glistening Deepwater, called Mystic
Visions. I've explored quite deeply into semantic and web 2.0
technologies. I've implemented the core algorithm for SMN in Java and
the system simulation engine now has full functionality and the
models can be imported or exported as XML files (this is still in
further development but will be available for download soon).

But the current project on my mind is
the idea of a System Oriented Modelling Paradigm. To give you
some idea of what I mean, below are some excerpts from recent design
documents they are just a brainstorm at present. If these ideas
make sense to you and you want to get involved then contact
me it will soon be released as an open source project.

The
project involves an analysis of general computational processes and
general systems, which re-orients system modelling practices upon a
coherent metaphysical foundation rather than on a
commonsense nave realist foundation. Traditional modelling
practices are seen in a new light and minor optimisations are
proposed that can considerably extend the potential and overall
functionality of designed systems. A detailed example is given in the
context of software engineering.

more >

News from Anandavala

Glossary of Core Information System Terms Used at Anandavala

Pangea Day and Unified Science

What's the connection between PangeaDay and Unified Science?

Universal System Integrator

What is a definition? How does it relate to meaning?

What is a system and why should we care to know?

System Oriented Modelling Paradigm - Brainstorming notes 03

Excerpts from brainstorming notes related toSMNDesignView

System Oriented Modelling Paradigm - Brainstorming notes 02

Excerpts from earlier brainstorming notes thatare still relevant

The Ancient Roots of Science

Travelling on Air

System Oriented Modelling Paradigm

What's the connection between Pangea
Day and Unified Science?

Excerpts from brainstorming notes related to
SMNDesignView

Excerpts from earlier brainstorming notes that
are still relevant