Readable atlas · Release 0.35
Science and Complexity
Weaver’s 1948 essay distinguishes kinds of scientific problem and examines both the promise and limits of scientific inquiry. Selected passages have been read in a later transcription; the original journal text and pagination have not been checked.
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Summary
Weaver’s 1948 essay distinguishes kinds of scientific problem and examines both the promise and limits of scientific inquiry. Selected passages have been read in a later transcription; the original journal text and pagination have not been checked.
Implications for practice
Use the source to question a methodological choice, rather than treating a historical classification as a universal sorting rule.
Key distinctions
- source text vs organisational application
- transcription page vs original journal page
Historical development
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Ideas it depends on
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Further developments
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Connections to practice
- State what the model must explain and which observations could challenge it.
Common confusions
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Further checks
- Compare the transcription with an original journal facsimile.
- Extend review beyond the four named passages.
Recorded connections
Check the wording, direction, scope, sources, and status of a connection before relying on it.
Science and Complexity authored by Warren Weaver
Status: accepted · Relation: authored by
Bibliographic first pass: records authorship or collection structure, not a full evaluation of the work or influence.
Locator: Official Foundational Papers in Complexity Science table of contents
- Foundational Papers in Complexity Science — official tables of contents (checked primary register)
Science and Complexity is part of Foundational Papers in Complexity Science, volume 1
Status: accepted · Relation: part of
Bibliographic first pass: records authorship or collection structure, not a full evaluation of the work or influence.
Locator: Official Foundational Papers in Complexity Science table of contents
- Foundational Papers in Complexity Science — official tables of contents (checked primary register)
Science and Complexity is item in Foundational Papers in Complexity Science
Status: accepted · Relation: part of
Official table of contents, volume 1, item 10.
No statement-level locator recorded.
- Foundational Papers in Complexity Science — official tables of contents (checked primary register)
Complexity has a foundational treatment in Science and Complexity
Status: provisional · Relation: described by
A cautious first-pass topic link based on the paper title and collection placement; substantive review remains pending.
No statement-level locator recorded.
- Foundational Papers in Complexity Science — official tables of contents (checked primary register)
Status: accepted · Relation: presents
This records documentary collection structure only. Inclusion does not by itself establish conceptual influence, agreement, importance or validity.
Locator: Official collection table of contents
- Foundational Papers in Complexity Science — official tables of contents (checked primary register)
Foundational Papers in Complexity Science presents as a constituent paper Science and Complexity
Status: accepted · Relation: presents
This records documentary collection structure only. Inclusion does not by itself establish conceptual influence, agreement, importance or validity.
Locator: Official collection table of contents
- Foundational Papers in Complexity Science — official tables of contents (checked primary register)
Science and Complexity is listed in Selected readings, 21 March 1952 — Wiener
Status: candidate · Relation: listed in bibliography
Bibliographic selection only. No influence, endorsement, or full-text coverage is implied.
Locator: Selected readings, 21 March 1952; Weaver, Warren. ‘Science and Complexity,’ American Scientist, Vol. 36, No. 4, 536–544.
- Wiener’s selected readings on cybernetics, 1951, 1952, 1956 (bibliographic or source boundary checked)
Science and Complexity makes the statistical example conditional on Modelling
Status: candidate · Relation: uses in argument
Weaver makes the billiard-ball statistical example conditional on how the balls are distributed and move; a deliberately aligned arrangement breaks the example. Source account only; contemporary organisational applications are editorial. Later transcription, not original journal pagination.
Locator: PDF page 3; Problems of Disorganized Complexity; paragraph beginning 'Earlier it was stated'
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription (selected passages checked transcription not facsimile)
Science and Complexity distinguishes organisation from variable count in Complexity
Status: candidate · Relation: presents account of
His distinction concerns organisation, not simply a moderate number of variables. Source account only; contemporary organisational applications are editorial. Later transcription, not original journal pagination.
Locator: PDF page 4; Problems of Organized Complexity; first paragraph
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription (selected passages checked transcription not facsimile)
Science and Complexity rejects an exclusive mixed-team pattern for Modelling
Status: candidate · Relation: qualifies practice claim
He favours mixed teams and computation while explicitly preserving other ways of working, including solitary inquiry. Source account only; contemporary organisational applications are editorial. Later transcription, not original journal pagination.
Locator: PDF page 8; paragraph beginning 'It is tempting to forecast'
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription (selected passages checked transcription not facsimile)
Science and Complexity limits the authority of science to settle Purpose
Status: candidate · Relation: qualifies practice claim
He rejects the expectation that scientific control alone settles social emergencies or supplies a moral code. Source account only; contemporary organisational applications are editorial. Later transcription, not original journal pagination.
Locator: PDF page 10; The Boundaries of Science; paragraph beginning 'Yes, science is a powerful tool'
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription (selected passages checked transcription not facsimile)
Claims and disputes
Weaver makes the billiard-ball statistical example conditional on how the balls are distributed and move; a deliberately aligned arrangement breaks the example.
Claim status: candidate. Review status: research pass needs editor.
Selected passage of a later transcription. Curator review pending; no original-edition or lineage claim.
Supporting sources
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription (selected passages checked transcription not facsimile)
His distinction concerns organisation, not simply a moderate number of variables.
Claim status: candidate. Review status: research pass needs editor.
Selected passage of a later transcription. Curator review pending; no original-edition or lineage claim.
Supporting sources
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription (selected passages checked transcription not facsimile)
He favours mixed teams and computation while explicitly preserving other ways of working, including solitary inquiry.
Claim status: candidate. Review status: research pass needs editor.
Selected passage of a later transcription. Curator review pending; no original-edition or lineage claim.
Supporting sources
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription (selected passages checked transcription not facsimile)
He rejects the expectation that scientific control alone settles social emergencies or supplies a moral code.
Claim status: candidate. Review status: research pass needs editor.
Selected passage of a later transcription. Curator review pending; no original-edition or lineage claim.
Supporting sources
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription (selected passages checked transcription not facsimile)
Sources and passage locators
- Foundational Papers in Complexity Science — official tables of contents (checked primary register)
- Wiener’s selected readings on cybernetics, 1951, 1952, 1956 (bibliographic or source boundary checked)
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription (selected passages checked transcription not facsimile)
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription: PDF page 3; Problems of Disorganized Complexity; paragraph beginning 'Earlier it was stated' · research pass needs editor
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription: PDF page 4; Problems of Organized Complexity; first paragraph · research pass needs editor
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription: PDF page 8; paragraph beginning 'It is tempting to forecast' · research pass needs editor
- Science and Complexity: selected passages in a later transcription: PDF page 10; The Boundaries of Science; paragraph beginning 'Yes, science is a powerful tool' · research pass needs editor
Cite this entry
Taylor, B. P. (2026). Science and Complexity. The Necessary Tangle, release 0.35. https://transduction.systems/entries/publication_fpcs_010/
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