"real" vs "formal" systems

Don Mikulecky (mikuleck@HSC.VCU.EDU)
Tue, 25 May 1999 10:45:15 -0400

I have noticed some unintended confusion in response to my "first pass"
distinction between "real" and "formal" systems which can be cleared up
quite easily. In the modeling relation we encode one system into
another. I called the one being encoded "real" and the one used as its
representation "formal". I could have avoided the problem (and
generated another) by calling them the one on the left of the diagram
and the one one the right. The point is that we can model one formal
system with another and one natural system with another as well, using
the modeling relation.

This gets a little clearer when you read Bill Dress' elaboration which
uses Karl popper's "three worlds".
http://HyperNews.ngdc.noaa.gov/ISSS/get/WILL/4/1.html

Also, Rosen used the Number System as an example of a "real" complex
system which can not be totally formalized with just one formal system
on the r.h.s. of the modeling relation.

I hope this helps.

Don Mikulecky