James Grier Miller: Space

James Grier Miller was biologist. Explore interesting quotes on space.
James Grier Miller: 48 quotes0 likes

“A space representing the shortest distances for messages to travel…”

James Grier Miller

Living Systems: Basic Concepts (1969)

“More concrete, physical space is the extension surrounding a point. It may be thought of as either the compass of the entire universe or some region of such a universe.”

James Grier Miller

Source: Living Systems: Basic Concepts (1969), p. 51

“A space of frequency of trade relations among nations.”

James Grier Miller

Living Systems: Basic Concepts (1969)

“The life space of Lewin, - the environment as seen by the subject, including the field forces or valences between him and objects in the environment, which can account for his immediately subsequent behavior.”

James Grier Miller

Living Systems: Basic Concepts (1969)

“A space of time costs of various modes of transportation, e. g., travel taking longer on foot than by air, longer upstream than down.”

James Grier Miller

Living Systems: Basic Concepts (1969)

“Scientific observers often view living systems as existing in spaces which they conceptualize or abstract from the phenomena with which they deal. Examples of such spaces are:”

James Grier Miller

Living Systems: Basic Concepts (1969)

“General systems theory is a set of related definitions, assumptions, and propositions which deal with reality as an integrated hierarchy of organizations of matter and energy. General systems behavior is concerned with a special subset of all systems, the living ones.
Even more basic to this presentation than the concept of "system" are the concepts of "space," "time," "matter," "energy," and "information," because the living systems which I shall discuss exist in space and are made of matter and energy organized by information.”

James Grier Miller

Source: Living Systems: Basic Concepts (1969), p. 51; Opening paragraph

“Sociometric space, e. g., the rating on a scale of leadership ability of each member of a group by every other member.”

James Grier Miller

Living Systems: Basic Concepts (1969)

“My presentation of a general theory of living systems will employ two sorts of spaces in which they may exist, physical or geographical space and conceptual or abstract space…
The characteristics and constraints of physical space affect the action of all concrete systems, living and nonliving… Physical space is a common space because it is the only space in which all concrete systems, living and nonliving, exist (though some may exist in other spaces simultaneously). Physical space is shared by all scientific observers, and all scientific data must be collected in it. This is equally true for natural science and behavioral science.”

James Grier Miller

Source: Living systems, 1978, p. 9-10; As cited in: Kenneth D. Bailey (1994) Sociology and the New Systems Theory: Toward a Theoretical Synthesis. p. 262

“Osgood's semantic space as determined by subjects' ratings of words on the semantic differential test.”

James Grier Miller

Living Systems: Basic Concepts (1969)

“The structure of a system is the arrangement of its subsystems and components in three-dimensional space at a given moment of time. This always changes over time. It may remain relatively fixed for a long period or it may change from moment to moment, depending upon the characteristics of the process in the system. This process halted at any given moment, as when motion is frozen by a high-speed photograph, reveals the three-dimensional spatial arrangement of the system's components as of that instant.”

James Grier Miller

Source: Living systems, 1978, p. 22; As cited in: Egolfs Voldemars Bakuzis (1974) Foundations of Forest Ecosystems: Concepts of systems in general. p. 490

“In the most general mathematical sense, a space is a set of elements which conform to certain postulates.”

James Grier Miller

Source: Living Systems: Basic Concepts (1969), p. 51

“A space of frequency of intermarriage among ethnic groups.
These conceptual and abstracted spaces do not have the same characteristics and are not subject to the same constraints as physical space. Each has characteristics and constraints of its own. These spaces may be either conceived of by a human being or learned about from others”

James Grier Miller

Source: Living Systems: Basic Concepts (1969), p. 53; About conceptual or abstracted spaces

“Social class space…”

James Grier Miller

Living Systems: Basic Concepts (1969)