Cyan comments on Without models - Less Wrong

14 Post author: RichardKennaway 04 May 2009 11:31AM

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Comment author: Cyan 04 May 2009 05:16:02PM 4 points [-]

He wrote at the top,

There are signals within the control system that are designed to relate to each other in the same way as do corresponding properties of the world outside. That is what a model is.

Is this definition inadequate? To me it seems to capture (up to English language precision) what it means to have a control system with a model in it.

Comment author: Vladimir_Nesov 04 May 2009 05:43:01PM 3 points [-]

This is very broad definition, the flexibility hiding in the word 'corresponding', and in the choice of properties to model. In a thermostat, for example, the state of thermometer, together with the fact that its readings correspond to the temperature of the world outside, seems to satisfy this definition (one signal, no internal structure). This fact is explicitly denied in the article, but without clear explanation as to why. A more strict definition will of course be able to win this argument.