Bonini's paradox
Encyclopedia
Bonini's Paradox, named after Stanford business professor Charles Bonini, explains the difficulty in constructing models or simulation
s that fully capture the workings of complex system
s (such as the human brain
).
This paradox may be used by researchers to explain why complete models of the human brain and thinking processes have not been created and will undoubtedly remain difficult for years to come.
This same paradox was observed earlier from a quote by Paul Valéry
, "Everything simple is false. Everything which is complex is unusable." (Notre destin et les lettres, 1937)
Also, the same topic has been discussed by Richard Levins
in his classic essay "The Strategy of Model Building in Population Biology", in stating that complex models have 'too many parameters to measure, leading to analytically insoluble equations that would exceed the capacity of our computers, but the results would have no meaning for us even if they could be solved. (See Odenbaugh, 2006)
: simpler maps are less accurate representations of the territory. An extreme form is given in the fictional stories Sylvie and Bruno Concluded and On Exactitude in Science
, which imagine a map of a scale of 1:1 (the same size as the territory), which is precise but unusable, illustrating one extreme of Bonini's paradox.
Isaac Asimov
's fictional science of "Psychohistory
" in his Foundation series also faces with this dilemma; Asimov even had one of his psychohistorians discuss the paradox.
Simulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
s that fully capture the workings of complex system
Complex system
A complex system is a system composed of interconnected parts that as a whole exhibit one or more properties not obvious from the properties of the individual parts....
s (such as the human brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
).
Statements
In modern discourse, the paradox was articulated by John M. Dutton and William H. Starbuck "As a model of a complex system becomes more complete, it becomes less understandable. Alternatively, as a model grows more realistic, it also becomes just as difficult to understand as the real-world processes it represents" (Computer Simulation of Human Behaviour, 1971).This paradox may be used by researchers to explain why complete models of the human brain and thinking processes have not been created and will undoubtedly remain difficult for years to come.
This same paradox was observed earlier from a quote by Paul Valéry
Paul Valéry
Ambroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. His interests were sufficiently broad that he can be classified as a polymath...
, "Everything simple is false. Everything which is complex is unusable." (Notre destin et les lettres, 1937)
Also, the same topic has been discussed by Richard Levins
Richard Levins
Richard "Dick" Levins is a mathematical ecologist, and political activist. He is best known for his work on evolution in changing environments....
in his classic essay "The Strategy of Model Building in Population Biology", in stating that complex models have 'too many parameters to measure, leading to analytically insoluble equations that would exceed the capacity of our computers, but the results would have no meaning for us even if they could be solved. (See Odenbaugh, 2006)
Related issues
Bonini's paradox can be seen as a case of the map–territory relationMap–territory relation
The map–territory relation describes the relationship between an object and a representation of that object, as in the relation between a geographical territory and a map of it...
: simpler maps are less accurate representations of the territory. An extreme form is given in the fictional stories Sylvie and Bruno Concluded and On Exactitude in Science
On Exactitude in Science
"On Exactitude in Science" or "On Rigor in Science" is a one-paragraph short story by Jorge Luis Borges, about the map/territory relation, written in the form of a literary forgery.-Plot:The story elaborates on a concept in Lewis Carroll's Sylvie and Bruno Concluded: a fictional map that had "the...
, which imagine a map of a scale of 1:1 (the same size as the territory), which is precise but unusable, illustrating one extreme of Bonini's paradox.
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's fictional science of "Psychohistory
Psychohistory (fictional)
Psychohistory is a fictional science in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe which combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make general predictions about the future behavior of very large groups of people, such as the Galactic Empire...
" in his Foundation series also faces with this dilemma; Asimov even had one of his psychohistorians discuss the paradox.
Selected bibliography
- Levins, R. "The Strategy of Model Building in Population Biology", American Scientist, 54:421-431, 1966
- Odenbaugh, Jay. "The strategy of 'The Strategy of Model Building in Population Biology' ", Biology and Philosophy, 21:607-621.