Professor Robert Vallée – Patron of Kybernetes

Citation

(2003), "Professor Robert Vallée – Patron of Kybernetes", Kybernetes, Vol. 32 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/k.2003.06732daa.002

Professor Robert Vallée – Patron of Kybernetes

Professor Robert Vallée – Patron of Kybernetes

Professor Robert Vallée (France) has been involved with Kybernetes since its foundation by Professor John Rose. He is now one of the journal’s distinguished patrons and the Director-General of the World Organisation of Systems and Cybernetics which has chosen this journal to be its official publication.

Professor Vallée is an eminent cybernetician and considers mathematics to be his main interest. He believes that mathematics helps us “to know what can be understood in the Universe” and so is deeply connected with epistemology. He is a prolific writer and researcher and his first publication of 1951 introduced the “opérateur d’observation” (observation operator), in a series of notes to the Académie des Sciences under the aegis of Louis de Broglie. He introduced an “observation operator” as a – mathematical operator describing how a macroscopic physical entity is perceived. by a sense of a conscious being or, metaphorically, by an instrument performing a measure in the broadest meaning of the word. The most simple case is given by linear observation operators which reduce to Volterra composition, convolution and mere multiplication of functions, within matrix formalism in the most general case, and introduce an algebra of macroscopic observation involving informational concepts. Connected with this kind of consideration is the problem of a possible minimal distance between two physical points seen as the smallest of the eigen-values of an adapted distance operator (1973a).

When the observed entity is the state of a macroscopic dynamical system, the use of an observation operator, acting necessarily on the past and present history of the state, introduces naturally the concepts of “epistemological indiscernibility” of two possible evolutions of the system and of “epistemological inverse transfers” of structures inherent to the system itself onto its subjective perceptions (1973b, 1974). Similar conceptions have been proposed, from 1978 on, by R. Rosen.

He continued to develop this research and in his later publications showed that – The uncertainty about the true initial state of a dynamical system induced, in the macroscopic case, by the imperfection of an observation operator, has consequences concerning the prevision of the future state. When the initial uncertainty may be described by a probability distribution, informational considerations in the sense of C.E. Shannon, can be developed, particularly in the linear case giving rather simple results (1979, 1982). Analogous results have been presented by G. Jumarie in 1991. The same problem may be solved, at least asymptotically, in the case of the wave function of an electron, in informational terms (1968).

The formalism of multidimensional linear dynamical systems, he believes, gives a frame for a modeling of perception and memorization of the results of perception. It involves, he writes:

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  …a “matrix factor of attention” a “matrix factor of memorization” and a “generalized Laplace transform with matrix argument” (1977, 1982, 1995). In the scalar case this formalism opens a way to an understanding of the perception of duration and so of time itself (1980, 1986, 1995). We obtained similar results by the introduction of an “internal time” intrinsic to a dynamical system (1996, 2000, 2001). The “internal time” as opposed to the external “reference time”, does not elapse when the state of the system does not change. More precisely, it is supposed to elapse, at each instant, proportionaly to the square of the modulus of the speed of evolution of the state of the system at this instant. So, when considering certain “explosive-implosive” scalar systems evolving on a reference time interval [0, T], the “internal time” interval becomes [–1, +1] providing physiological and cosmological interpretations.

  The consideration of a dynamical system able to perceive, decide and act, even in a metaphorical sense, involves an “observation operator” followed by a decision operator or, more briefly, their product which we call “pragmatic operator”. All that which may be said about observation operators can be transposed to pragmatic operators introducing “pragmatical indiscernibility” as well as “pragmatical inverse transfer” (1975) and giving rise to an “epistemo-praxiology” (1984, 1990c, 1995, 1998a).

In his further considerations, Norbert Wiener’s generalized harmonic analysis suggested to him the definition of an “epsilon-distribution”, in a way the antithesis of Dirac’s delta, with interesting properties and applications (1992c, 1993c). Sociological problems also attracted his attention and he gives as an example, the description of a “gigantic cybernetical creature covering the whole surface of the globe with its communications net” (1952), an idea which has also been proposed by J. de Rosney (from 1975 onwards). Professor Vallée has also been interested in the history of cybernetics and systems particularly in connection with Descartes (1996a), Louis de Broglie (1990b, d), and Norbert Wiener (1990c).

Amongst the many honours and awards that he has received are the two most prestigious medals presented by the Collège de Systémique of the Association Française pour la Cybernetique Economique et Technique (AFCET) in 1987 and the Norbert Wiener Memorial Gold Medal of the World. Organisation of Systems and Cybernetics in 1990.

Professor Vallée was born in Poitiers (France) in an academic family with both parents being Professors of History. He is married and has three children and currently lives in Paris. It was here at the Ecole polytechnique that he received the university education that later enabled him to gain Dr ès sciences in mathematical physics for his research into an extension of the Kaluza-Klein general relativity under the direction of Andre Lichnerowicz (Université de Paris, 1961).

He has held a number of important academic appointments in France at the Institut Blaise Pascal (Paris), Ecole polytechnique (Paris) Université de Besancon, Université Paris XIII and also at the Université Paris I (Pathéon-Sorbonne), and the Université Paris II, where he was responsible for doctoral courses in “dynamical systems” and “systems and communications”, respectively. At the Université Paris XIII he became President of the Department of Mathematical Economics (1975-87) and also served as Dean of the Faculty of Economics (1973-75). Now as Emeritus Professor at the Université Paris XIII he continues his life-long scholarly- interests. The contributions he has made to associations and societies both in France and worldwide, either through being a member or holding office as President or Director-General, is well known. In particular, his presidency of the Collège de Systémique of the AFCET(1981-4) and his appointment as Director-General of WOSC in 1987 were highly acclaimed.

He founded the Cercle d’Etude Cybernétique (President: Louis de Broglie) in 1950 and also forged an historic link with Norbert Wiener when he participated in a Foreign Students Summer Project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the direction of Wiener and Armand Siegel in 1954.

We are fortunate that in his busy schedule representing WOSC at the major cybernetics and systems events worldwide, he is also able to promote so successfully the aims and objectives of this interdisciplinary journal.

Selected References – Robert Vallée“Sur deux classes d’opérateurs d’observation”, Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, 233, pp. 1350-1, 1951.“Cybernetics and the future of man”, Impact of Science on Society, III, 3, pp. 171-180, 1952.“A note on algebra and macroscopic observation”, Information and Control, Vol. 1, pp. 82-4, 1957.Les mathématiques et le raisonnement “plausible” (translation of Mathematics and Plausible reasoning, Polya G.), Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1958.Sur la representation relativiste des fluides parfaits chargés, Thése, Paris, 1962.Expression asymptotique, pour les grandes valeurs du temps, de l’information associée à la fonction d’onde dans le cas d’un corpuscule libre, Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, B, 267, pp. 529-32, 1968.Sur le problème de la 1ocalisation en mécatoque quantique, Buletinul Institutului Politehnic din Iasi, XIX (XXIII), 1-2, pp. 99-103, 1973.Sur la formalisation mathématique en théorie de l’observation, 7ème Congrès International de Cybernétique, Namur, 1973, Actes du 7ème Congrès International de Cybernétique, 1, Association International de Cybernétique, Namur, pp. 225-32, 1974.“Observation, decision and structure transfers in systems theory”, 2nd European Meeting on Systems Research, Vienna, 1974, in Trappl R., Pichler F. (Eds), Progress in Cybemetics and Systems Research, 1, Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, Washington, pp. 15-20, 1975.“Un aspect de l’analyse de la régulation: l’actualisation des chroniques multidimensionnelles”, Economie Appliquée, Vol. 31 Nos 3-4, pp. 4 51-9, 1978.“Aspect informational du problème de la prévision dans le cas d’une observation initiale imparfaite, Economie Appliquée, Vol. 32 Nos 2-3, pp. 221-7, 1979.Memorization in systems theory and perception of time, International Congress on Applied Systems Research and Cybernetics, Acapulco, 1980, in Lasker, G.E. (Ed.), Applied Systems and Systems Research, Vol. 2, Pergamon Press, New York, pp. 697-700, 1981.Generalized Laplace transform with matrix argument, actualisation and systems theory, Systems Science V, Wroclaw 1978, Systems Science, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 63-8, 1982.Evolution of a dynamical system with random initial conditions, in Cybernetics and Systems Research, Trappl R. (Ed.), 2, North Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam, pp. 163-4, 1982.About Heinz von Foerster’s “eigen-elements”, Systems Science III, Wroclaw, 1983, Systems Science, Vol. 10, pp. 25-28, 1984.Subjective perception of time and systems, in Trappl, R. (ed.), Cybernetics and Systems’86, D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, pp. 35-38, 1986.Sur la modélisation de la perception, in Biologie Théorique-Solignac 1985, Lück (coord.), Editions du CNRS, Paris, pp. 277-288, 1987.Le paradigme du transfert inverse, in Actes du Congrès Européen de Systémique 1, 1, pp. 277-282, Association Française pour la Cybernétique Economique et Technique, Paris, 1989.Sur la complexité d’un système relativement à un observateur, La Modélisation de la Complexité, Aix-en-Provence, 1988, Revue Internationale de Systémique, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 239-243, 1990a.Louis de Broglie and Cybernetics, Kybernetes, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 32-3, 1990b.A week in New Hampshire with Norbert Wiener, in Trappl, R. (Ed.), Cybernetics and Systems’90, World Scientific, Singapore, 1990c, pp. 343-347.“Plato’s cave revisited”, Kybernetes, Vol. 19, pp. 37-42, 1990d.The “Cercle d’Etudes Cybernétiques”, Systems research, Vol. 7 No. 3, p. 205, 1990e.“Perception, memorisation and multidimensional time”, Kybernetes, Vol. 20 No. 6, pp. 15-28, 1991.La caverne de Platon revisitée, Perspectives Systémiques 2, Cerisy-la-Salle, 1988, in Praxis et cognition, Bernard-Weil E., Tabary J.-C. (dirs.), L’Interdisciplinaire, Limonest (France), pp. 25-32, 1992a.Origine et évolution de la systémique, Systèmes dynamiques linéaires, Auto-organisation, auto- référence et autonomie in Systémique, Théorie et Applications (Le Gallou, F., Bouchon-Meunier, B.(dirs), Lavoisier, Paris, pp. 14-22, 114-126, 317-323, 1992b.The “epsilon-distribution” or the antithesis of Dirac’s delta, in Trappl, R., (Ed.), Cybernetics and Systems Research’92, pp. 97-102, World Scientific, Singapore, 1992c.Systems theory, an historical presentation, in Banathy, B.H. and Rodriguez Delgado, R. (Eds), International Systems Science Handbook, Systemic Publications, Madrid, pp. 84-104, 1993a.“Fixed points and interacting subjects”, Kybernetes, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 25-32, 1993b.“The “epsilon-distribution” and its applications to diffusion equation and Wiener’s generalized harmonic analysis”, in Ghosal, A. and Murthy, P.N. (Eds), Recent Advances in Cybernetics and Systems, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, New Delhi, pp. 64-9, 1993c.Cognition et système, essai d’épistémo-praxiologie, L’Interdisciplinaire, Limonest (France), 1995a.A la recherche du <<cybionte>>, Revue Internationale de Systémique, 9, 5, pp. 541-4, 1995b.Descartes et 1a cybernétique, Alliage, 28, pp. 43-5, 1996a.Temps propre d’un système dynamique, cas d’un système explosif-implosif, in Pessa, E., Penna, M.P. (dirs.), Actes du 3ème Congrès Européen de Systémique, Edizioni Kappa, Rome, pp. 967-970, 1996b.Synergetics and Cybernetics, with H. Haken, in Encyclopedia of Applied Physics, Vol. 20, VCH Publishers, New York, pp. 407-27, 1997.An introduction to “epistemo-praxiology”, Cybernetics and Human Knowing, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 47-55, 1998a.Evolution of uncertainty about the state of a dynamical system, Kybernetes, Vol. 27 No. 9, pp. 1007-11, 1998b.Intrinsic time of a dynamical system, Proceedings of the World Congress of the Systems Sciences and ISSS 2000 “International Society for the Systems Sciences 44th Annual Meeting”, Allen, J.K., Wilby, J. (Eds), CD-ROM, The International Society for The Systems Sciences 2000.“Time and dynamical systems”, Systems Science, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 97-100, 2001.