Free Republic

An excerpt fromROBERT ROSEN: THE WELL POSED QUESTION AND ITS ANSWER — WHY ARE ORGANISMS DIFFERENT FROM MACHINES? By Donald C. Mikulecky Department of Physiology Medical Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University The Well Posed Question and Its Answer Science, perception and measurement: The role of the modeling relation In order to be able to deal with some very confusing issues, it is necessary to formulate just what it is we think we are doing when we carry out this function called “science.” In a very real sense what we mean by science is the ultimate version of what humans do...

Combinatorics, Probability Theory, and the Observer Problem   Combinatorics and probability theory are distinct yet related branches of mathematics. Combinatorics is the evaluation of a (usually) finite set of objects. It asks questions like, “How likely is it the next card I draw will be a seven of hearts?” Or, “What is the likelihood of my winning the five-ball Lotto tonight?” Next questions might be, “How many cards are in a standard deck?” Or “What are the possible combinations of numbers for a winning lottery ticket?” Extending the method from questions of this type, Combinatorics might ask, “How many...