“The first attempts to consider the behavior of so-called "random neural nets" in a systematic way have led to a series of problems concerned with relations between the "structure" and the "function" of such nets. The "structure" of a random net is not a clearly defined topological manifold such as could be used to describe a circuit with explicitly given connections. In a random neural net, one does not speak of "this" neuron synapsing on "that" one, but rather in terms of tendencies and probabilities associated with points or regions in the net.” WayFirstsDoeProblemUsedSpeakGivenTermBehaviorConcernedConnectionsFunctionRelationStructureSeriesTendenciesDefinedRegionsProbabilitySystematicCircuitsNeuronsManifold Author:Anatol Rapoport
“Whether sociology can ever become a full-fledged "science" (a description of a class of events predictable on the basis of deductions from a constant rationale) depends on whether the terms which sociologists employ to describe events can be analyzed into quantifiable observables.” TermClassEventsDependsBasesConstantDescriptionSociologyPredictableDeductionsSociologists Author:Anatol Rapoport
“(Game theory is) essentially a structural theory. It uncovers the logical structure of a great variety of conflict situations and describes this structure in mathematical terms. Sometimes the logical structure of a conflict situation admits rational decisions; sometimes it does not.” DoeSometimesGamesTermDecisionSituationTheoryConflictStructureRationalVarietyMathematicalLogicalRational Decisions Author:Anatol Rapoport
“On the question of whether a behavioral science can in principle be constructed, we shall take no sides. That some kinds of human behavior can be described and even predicted in terms of objectively verifiable and quantifiable data seems to us to have been established.” HumansKindHas BeensSeemsSidesTermPrinciplesBehaviorDataHuman Behavior Book:Prisoner's Dilemma: A Study in Conflict and Cooperation Source: Prisoner's Dilemma: A Study in Conflict and Cooperation
