Principle of simplicity

To a significant extent, the theoretical basis of modern communication theory arose from the work of Claude Shannon at Bell Labs. [80]. In these seminal works, the concept of the information entropy associated with an arbitrary signal arose. In 1981, Watanabe realised the close association between entropy minimization and pattern recognition [81]. An association between entropy minimization and the principle of simplicity is also recognized [82]. The basic mathematical form of signal... 

Abnormal external conditions may thus be responsible for an apparent breakdown in the principle of simplicity of faces. However, apparent exceptions to the principle cannot always be attributed to abnormal external conditions. It is not justifiable to regard the principle of simplicity as more than a broad generalization that is to say, even when external conditions are normal, the faces on crystals, though always simple, are not necessarily the simplest possible. (See also Niggli, 1920.) The rates of growth of crystal faces are of course determined by the... 

When a failure or a malfunction occurs, first it needs to be detected. The detection time is influenced by the choice of appropriate alarm settings or by the use of more sophisticated alarm systems, as described in Section 10.4.6. Most important, is choosing the appropriate parameter which must be monitored to detect a malfunction. The design of alarms, interlocks, and control strategies is an important part of process design and should always follow the principles of simplicity in the concept of inherently safer processes (see Section 10.3). 

The idea that laws of nature should satisfy a principle of simplicity goes back at least to the Greek philosophers [436], The anthropomorphic concept that the engineering skill of a supreme creator should result in rules of least effort or of most efficient use of resources leads directly to principles characterized by mathematical extrema. For example, Aristotle (De Caelo) concluded that planetary orbits must be perfect circles, because geometrical perfection is embodied in these curves ... of lines that return upon themselves the line which bounds the circle is the shortest. That movement is swiftest which follows the shortest line . Hero of Alexandria ( Catoptrics) proved perhaps the first scientific minimum principle, showing that the path of a reflected ray of light is shortest if the angles of incidence and reflection are equal. 

It is not unusual in the composition of a perfume to use not only an individual floral material such as phenylethyl alcohol as part of the main structure of the formula but to back this up by a more complex rose base as well a little of the natural flower product. This principle of simplicity within the main structure of the perfume, and increasing complexity within the lesser components, is one to which we will return in later chapters. 

Under the principle of conservation 2. 2. Under the principle of maintenance 2. 3 Under the prinqiple of clearness 2. . Under the principle of simplicity 2. 5 Under the principle of separation and isolation... 

In formulating hypotheses for the mechanism of a given complex reaction, and in using different procedures for the selection of one out of many hypotheses (discrimination of hypotheses), the question arises as to the hierarchy of the hypotheses. The intuitive principle of simplicity cannot play the role of a tool for the selection of hypotheses in the case of multiroute reactions because the number of vertices and cycles and the ways of linking cycles in the kinetic graph are already variables. Proceeding from linear mechanisms, we examine here possible approaches to the construction of a quantitative scale for mechanistic complexity or to the selection of a complexity index". 

Simplest Base Model Is Backbone. The simplest base model that characterizes the underlying patterns in the data should form the backbone for developing a population model. The principle of simplicity stipulates that models with the minimum number of parameters should be used. This is called the parsimony principle. The model with the smallest number of parameters that describe the data well is the most parsimonious model. 

However, it was decided to house the equipment required in shielded cells, equipped with manipulators and hoists rather than in ponds as was done in the first plant. The machinery was to be capable of being removed and replaced without direct contact. This departure from the principles of simplicity and low maintenance requirements, was a necessary concomitant of the choice of mechanical decladding for high throughput. Experience has shown that the process is acceptable but the equipment has required evolutionary development to deal consistently with the fuel at the required rate. 

The principle of simplicity is based on the fact that simpler plants are safer than complex plants, as they provide fewer opportunities for human, equipment, instrument, and control errors and contain a smaller number of equipment that can fail. 

To establish the atomic weight of an element, it is necessary to have accurate analytical data for one of its compounds with another element of known atomic weight (e.g. oxygen), and to know the correct formula of the compound. Berzelius was an expert analyst, and he used various methods to deduce the formulae of compounds in preference to putting his faith in Dalton s principle of simplicity. 

Tobeconsideredelementary,areactionmustbe simple. Screening tools, based on die principles of simplicity, can be used to assess die likelihood diat a given reaction is elementary. 

The poster boy for the Newtonian Revolution was the principle of parsimony as articulated by Aristotle, that nature operates in the shortest way possible and the more limited, if adequate, is always preferable . The principle is also linked with the English philosopher and Franciscan monk William of Ockham, who advocated what is known as Ockham s Razor pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate ( plurality should not be posited without necessity ) and "non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatetri ( entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily ). In this sense, the principle of simplicity obliges us to favour theories or hypotheses that make the fewest unwarranted, or ad hoc, assumptions about the data from which they are derived. This epistemological use of the principle does not necessarily imply that nature itself is parsimonious. Nonetheless, most scientists even today follow Newton and conduct their research as if they believe that nature is parsimonious in some sense, and they place much more credence in simple than in complex theories. 

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