A study of analogies between processes in technical and biological systems

D.Phil. (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)The knowledge and understanding that a scientist has about the world is often embodied in the form of a model, which is a representation containing the essential structure of some object or event. The goal of the scientific method is to reduce the complexity of our observations on our surroundings (and ourselves) by creating, verifying and modifying simplified models. In turn, a technical scientist (commonly referred to as an “engineer”) uses appropriately simplified mathematical models to predict and control various processes. Yet the central question is as to how close such models are to reality in spite of considerable simplifying assumptions, and whether or not they are reliable and credible enough to be accepted as being valid. In the following, models applied in technical science (commonly referred to as “engineering”) are examined to find out whether or not such mathematical models are valid in biology as well. In fact, it is shown, that such models do fall short of a valid representation of biological phenomena. In turn, the concept of analogy, a method borrowed from cognitive science, is introduced as another way of knowledge representation and model construction