Probabilities of encounters between objects in biological systems 2: cognizer view.
The same event may not necessarily occur against a given cognition (action) upon repetition. The degree of certainty in which a particular event actually occurs following a current cognition is the probability of the event viewed (experienced) by the focal cognizer. This is the internal concept of probability, which is contrasted with the external probability concept, the probability viewed by the meta-observer located outside the system, expressed as the relative frequencies of events. The internal probability may be a measure of the adaptive cognitions or actions of a cognizer by which it generates or maintains a particular relation to its surroundings. In this paper, the quantitative description of encounter probabilities based on the internal concept is explored in the framework of the cognizers system model. The internal analysis derives the same formulation as that derived by the meta-observer concept of probability reported in a previous paper (Nakajima, 2001a), indicating the theoretical consistency of encounter probabilities between the analyses by the two contrasting probability concepts. The formulation suggests that a cognizer can raise (or reduce) the encounter probability with targets by a discriminative and selective response to a given situation, which describes a quantitative aspect of biological adaptation to the environment.
Nakajima
Toshiyuki
T
Department of Biology and Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-Cho, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577, Japan. nakajima@sci.ehime-u.ac.jp
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003071:Cognition; D004777:Environment; D008954:Models, Biological; D011336:Probability; D013598:Systems Theory