Lewis Works

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Lewis Works Newsletter

The E-zine of Applied General Systems Science

By Hugh M. Lewis, PhD, MA, general editor

Vol. II:  No. 3

10/22/04 Copyright 2004 ©, Hugh M. Lewis.  Facsimiles of this page or parts of this page may be printed and distributed for non-profit research, consulting and educational purposes only, as governed by fair use policy.

On Top

Progress continues with our Microsoft partnership program. It has provided the context for the development of new operational management and design frameworks, and has been the source of much new thinking on how to move forward with our central projects. I am encouraged greatly by the results of this involvement and in spite of the enormity of the central undertaking, we are plowing forward on a daily basis. Our central dilemma continues to be the paucity of resources by which to carry forward various projects. There is exponential growth of task requirements as one descends through the levels of the master framework, making consistent and sustained focus on a lower level sufficient enough for project completion very difficult to achieve and much less maintain over the long term. 

The only effective anti-dote for this general problem that applies to all systems frameworks, given that in almost all real-world circumstances resources are never sufficient to the tasks ultimately required, is through achievement of better organizational integration of the working framework, and through solutions which serve to reduce this information/work bottleneck . The trick is to learn to work smarter, not harder. The problem is that this is much easier to say than to do, especially when a general social atmosphere tends overall to interfere destructively with such development work. I can say with confidence that this central issue is being addressed and beginning to be resolved in our favor, in spite of the previous set-backs and obstacles we've encountered. This work continues almost daily.

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Main Article

The general problem of systems integration is central to the entire challenge of understanding systems of any kind or of framing a coherent and reliable general systems theory. In its most basic form, the problem of general systems integration concerns how systems form and behave, articulated as they are in larger meta-systems contexts, composed of component parts that interact with one another in ways that result in the synergistic patterning of the system. The general problem of systems integration involves the problem of systems relations, which refers back to the issue of general systems relativity. Also, from another perspective, it involves the problem of the stratification of reality and the differentiation of systems from one another and from the environmental context in which any particular system becomes articulated. Put another way, the problem of general systems integration concerns how reality comes together and how it works, and it becomes therefore a central problem for all fields of science to address, albeit at the levels and in the particular areas of their specific research subjects.

One of the central dilemmas of systems integration is that on one hand it involves bringing things together, and on the other, and simultaneously, separating things apart. With the problem of the integration of reality comes the concomitant question of the differentiation of reality. Just as we see things coming together in certain ways, and not in others, so we also tend to see things falling apart in some ways, and usually not in others. A great deal of differentiation observed in the word can be referred to as developmental differentiation that has a sense of historical precedence of previous states and the future-ward consequence of  possible or even probably states. Most developmental differentiation to which no outside chance forces may be attributed, seem to follow a fairly deterministic or even over-deterministic pattern of dynamic ordering. Much of the qualities we associate with "systems" of any and all kinds at whatever level of reality we are referring to, demonstrates this kind of dynamic ordering through developmental differentiation. We have not yet figured it out in the physical sciences, but call it Evolutionary theory in the biological sciences, and argue over progressive human civilization in the social sciences.

We can say some things about the problem of integration in a formal sense, and this relates to the structure and informational capacity related to all systems of any kind or level of analytical description, and forms the foundation for a general systems approach to science. For instance:

1. A totally undetermined system is one in which all possible causal relations, and hence all possible outcomes, are equally likely, and the outcomes are completely stochastic in a chaotic sense.

2. A totally determined system is one in which there is only one set of causal connections between components and only one possible outcome from the system. Such a system can be said to be anti-chaotic.

3. The observation of nature and of any real system reveals that systems may be neither totally determined nor completely undetermined--in fact, no natural phenomena appears to occur that is either completely determined or undetermined.

4. All real systems as coherent and differentiated entities appear to be finite and limited in physical parameters of both time and space. They achieve a limited degree of deterministic order, for a limited frame of time and space, and in relation to both internal and external constraints.

5. The limited integration achieved by real systems are neither completely self-organizational nor organized as a consequence of meta-systemic interactions in the environment, but as a complex combination of both sets of factors in interaction.

6. All real systems are in a state of continuous fluctuation that is describable in terms of non-linear dynamics and control theory, and hence such changes follow probabilistic pathways within a paradigm of possible alternatives that are available to statistical measures of description.

We may describe for any system a unique informational paradigm in which the dimensions of order to disorder are contrasted with the dimensions of internal to external constraints:

The profile of any system's informational paradigm may be said to be unique to that particular system, if we can define in a precise way the constraints that constitute the system. In other words, the problem of systems integration boils mathematically (i.e., physically) down to a problem of complex mutual constraint between discriminating factors, both the degree and direction of constraint. These variables may only be modeled in terms of complex differential equations, and the changes that factors undergo within a system paradigm are continuously in fluctuation, such that we may only identify in iterative states discrete instances of a system in developmental transition.

The description of systems integration may be best modeled by the mechanism of a periodic inter-harmonic resonance amplification device, or more simply, as a pendulum, or rather as a set of pendulums each oscillating at a different frequency and rate.

This paradigm is somewhat deceptive though, because it disguises the true complexity of systems interaction and behavior in a discrete sense. It presents measures of order, disorder, internal and external constraint in a composite sense, disguising the complex and uncertainty factors that would make up each measure, and not accounting for the internal variables and relationships that affect the overall measures. It is precisely these sets of variables that render the entire system one of continuous fluctuation and change, and one that is rooted in complexity of interrelationship. 

In other words, it is quite unrealistic to consider that we can obtain at any one point in time a true and accurate measure of internal or external constraint or of relative order or disorder, much less to reliably describe these in any consistent manner. We in fact lack the language or the logic to do so in a simple manner, and even the descriptive analysis of the simplest of systems rapidly breaks down under the weight of the exponential increase of complexity entailed by the extension of such a paradigm. But our language does provide us with the trick of symbolic magic, the fallacy of being able to talk about systems, and components and measures of systems, in a composite manner as if these are in fact real and true to life.

And if we think about it all information is really this way--the information we have is that of the past stream of events, and never the current condition of reality. The problem of integration is the paradox of change, and the dilemma of having to describe change in terms that are intrinsically static. Of course this is also our saving grace, as we are permitted to speak qualitatively about reality, in terms of inaccurate or imprecise generalities and implicit generalizations, when it becomes impossible to speak about reality otherwise or in terms that are "really real." This does not weaken our scientific knowledge, but only strengthens it by a realization of its own relativities.

The rub of the matter is that in fact real systems do come to exhibit stable states and configurations, and even stadial patterns of development from one stage to another, and it is the symbolic structure of our language and logic that lends itself most readily to the description and understanding of these conditions. We see this as the emergent patterns and properties associated with systems of all kinds and as important to their identification as such. We may not easily understand the problem of integration directly, fundamentally, in a completely analytical manner, but we can readily approach the problem in terms of the consequences and results of integration.

Announcements & Updates

Announcements of recent updates in our framework

*We have temporarily suspended our main business account, at www.lewisbusinessnet.com with the purpose of setting up a new account under this domain under more auspicious circumstances.

*More light has been shed on the recent e-bay hacking episode, and it has become apparent that someone had used my identity to set up another Geo-Cities hosting account through Yahoo, though they didn't ultimately succeed and this account was terminated. We will be shortly setting up an anti-fraud file at http://www.xyztems.com/Fraud/ 

*We have been doing some editing and updating of our main-pages and though development of the web-system has been slow the past few months we anticipate things slowly picking up pace in the last quarter of this year.

*Traffic through our web-system is continuing to increase and to remain high. 

*Though many of our newest updates and projects will remain indefinitely on a need to know basis, the results of this work will become increasingly evident in terms of web design and reorganization as the weeks roll by. For instance, we are temporarily testing our old scripts for a dynamic interface, and though it may seem a bit dumb, it provides a platform for further work in AI and software development on the web. You may experience this interface by going to any of our main page URL's--for instance http://www.lewisworks.com or http://www.lewismicropublishing.com 

Mission Statement

Lewis Works is dedicated to realizing new human adaptive possibilities in order to create alternative long-term frameworks for human & biological systems development on earth and beyond.

The primary mission of Lewis Works is to fundamentally empower all human beings, without regard or reference to their individual or cultural differences, so that they may function in a more constructive and non-violent manner by means of their integration within an applied systems framework that enables them to contextualize and focus their independent developmental efforts toward comprehensive solutions to common problems in resource distribution, environmental adaptation, and social-structural interaction.

• 1. Lewis Works seeks alternative meta-systems based development through applied general systems with the main goals of:

• a. Achieving a mutually stable and harmonic balance between future human systems and earthbound biological systems.

• b. Providing all human beings in unbiased structural or cultural contexts the alternative systems-based frameworks for their individual & social development by means of increased opportunities, productivity, security and resource availability that they would not otherwise have in conventional frameworks.

• c. Developing the infra-structural context and means for the regular extension of human and biological systems beyond the boundaries of the earth.

• 2. Lewis Works is dedicated to achieving a better world for all people and for all life-forms through the implementation and articulation of an applied general systems framework to general and specific problem sets that occur in the adaptive organization of human behavior in a shared natural environment.

• 3. Lewis Works is non-exclusive, open, non-authoritarian, philanthropic and pacifist in orientation.

• 4. Lewis Works pursues a combination of both profit and non-profit programs and projects to the achievement of its main goals.

• 5. Lewis Works protects and promotes universal human rights and human responsibilities throughout its various programs and projects by the systematic pursuit of human development strategies.

• 6. Lewis Works is law abiding and honest in all its dealings and transactions in all contexts, and respects and honors the customs and manners of all peoples and all ethnocultural groupings.

• 7. Lewis Works protects and promotes the confidentiality and legitimate interests of its clients and customers under all circumstances and in all cases.

• 8. Lewis Works seeks to efficiently provide a comprehensive range of profit-based services and related product lines within an open, web-based forum of exchange that is global in scope, regional in character, and local in focus, and that serves as the basis for the development of a structurally open meta-systems based context in the world transcending local, regional and national identities and affiliations.

• 9. Lewis Works seeks to promote non-profit programs in alternative human development for the sake of alleviating human suffering, educating people openly and in an unbiased manner, and promoting pro-social human development.

• 10. Lewis Works seeks to create trans-national meta-cultural orientations in the world through various organizational frameworks that promote open, democratic principles of government, fair-play and the rule of just law, and through the development of anti-structural multi-media based systems that provide humanity a common symbolic context for their meta-cultural integration.

Products/Services

Lewis Works strives to offer a genuinely comprehensive range of services and products for the global e-consumer in an informed, non-aggressive manner. It has taken us time to develop our resources into an integrated framework that will provide largely automated self-service to our members and other customers, bolstered by one-on-one account management and attention to personal details. But persistence & a great deal of patience is finally beginning to pay-off in terms of the emergence of a real web-system with an active presence on the Internet.

We act both as a reseller for other providers, and we also are increasing the product range that we actually own or buy ourselves wholesale and then resell. We also provide a range of peripheral options through associate/affiliate accounts. 

We seek to be as honest and transparent in our dealings and relations with the world as possible, putting as a premium in our transactions building the values of trust and reliability.

We also recommend our current Link Palette for related links & portals, though most of these are as yet unfinished.

For external topic-organized links, we recommend Hugh's Hot Links

For popular, top-search links, we recommend Haut Lynx

Query us for advertising on our Advertising Pages that are shown throughout our web-system on more than a eleven hundred distinct URLs.

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