?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Complexity+and+Scientific+Modelling&rft.creator=Edmonds%2C+Bruce&rft.subject=Machine+Learning&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Science&rft.description=There+have+been+many+attempts+at+formulating+measures+of+complexity+of+physical+processes.+Here+we+reject+this+direct+approach+and+attribute+complexity+only+to+models+of+these+processes+in+a+given+language%2C+to+reflect+its+%22difficulty%22.+A+framework+for+modelling+is+outlined+which+includes+the+language+of+modelling%2C+the+complexity+of+models+in+that+language%2C+the+error+in+the+model's+predictions+and+the+specificity+of+the+model.+Many+previous+formulations+of+complexity+can+be+seen+as+either%3A+a+special+case+of+this+framework%3B+attempts+to+%22objectify%22+complexity+by+considering+only+minimally+complex+models+or+its+asymptotic+behaviour%3B+relativising+it+to+a+fixed+mathematical+structure+in+the+absence+of+noise%3B+misnamed+in+that+they+capture+the+specificity+rather+than+the+complexity.+Such+a+framework+makes+sense+of+a+number+of+aspects+of+scientific+modelling.+Complexity+does+not+necessarily+correspond+to+a+lack+of+simplicity+or+lie+between+order+and+disorder.+When+modelling+is+done+by+agents+with+severe+resource+limitations%2C+the+acceptable+trade-offs+between+complexity%2C+error+and+specificity+can+determine+the+effective+relations+between+these.+The+characterisation+of+noise+will+emerge+from+this.+Simpler+theories+are+not+a+priori+more+likely+to+be+correct+but+sometimes+preferring+the+simpler+theory+at+the+expense+of+accuracy+can+be+a+useful+heuristic.&rft.publisher=Kluwer+Academic&rft.contributor=Aerts%2C+Diederik&rft.date=2000&rft.type=Journal+(Paginated)&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpostscript&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1773%2F1%2FcompsciA4.ps&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1773%2F5%2Fcompsci.pdf&rft.identifier=++Edmonds%2C+Bruce++(2000)+Complexity+and+Scientific+Modelling.++%5BJournal+(Paginated)%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1773%2F