18 July 2021

Out of Context: System is... (Definitions)

"A system is an imaginary machine invented to connect together in the fancy those different movements and effects which are already in reality performed." (Adam Smith, "The Wealth of Nations", 1776)

"A system is a set of objects compromising all that stands to one another in a group of connected relations." (Charles S Peirce, "Cambridge Lectures on Reasoning and the Logic of Things: Detached Ideas on Vitally Important Topics", 1898)

"A system is a whole which is composed of various parts." (James E Creighton, "An Introductory Logic"‎, 1909)

"A system is defined as any combination of matter that we wish to study." (Earl B Millard, "Physical Chemistry for Colleges: A course of instruction", 1946)

"A system is any portion of the universe set aside for certain specified purposes." (Kay Inaba et al, "A rational method for applying behavioral technology to man-machine system design", 1956)

"A System is a set of elements in interaction." (Ludwig von Bertalanffy, "General System Theory", 1968)

"A system is a set of two or more elements that satisfies the following three conditions. (1) The behavior of each element has an effect on the behavior of the whole. (2) The behavior of the elements and their effects on the whole are interdependent. the way each element behaves and the way it affects the whole depends on how at least one other element behaves. (3) However subgroups of the elements are formed, each has an effect on the behavior of the whole and none has an independent effect on it." (Russell L Ackoff, "Creating the Corporate Future", 1981) 

"A system is an internally organised whole where elements are so intimately connected that they operate as one in relation to external conditions and other systems." (Alexander Spirkin, "Dialectical Materialism", 1983)

"A system is a network of interdependent components that work together to try to accomplish the aim of the system." (William E Deming, "The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education", 1993)

"In the most abstract sense, a system is a set of objects together with relationships among the objects." (Tom R. Burns, "System Theories", 2006)

"A system is a compound entity (i.e. has parts within) that produces results above and beyond the sum of the contributions of its parts." (Aldo Romano & Giustina Secundo (Eds.), "Dynamic Learning Networks: Models and Cases in Action", 2009)

"A system is a set of connected things forming a complex whole. " (Laura Sebastian-Coleman, "Measuring Data Quality for Ongoing Improvement ", 2012)

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