The importance of multimedia

Abstract  The paper discusses two basic principles derived from results of studies concerning foundations of micro-theories of knowledge creation; these areMultimedia Principle and Emergence Principle. Their epistemic, systemic and metaphysical importance is discussed, together with their relations to the episteme of technology treated as a separate cultural sphere. A spiral of evolutionary knowledge creation is presented, in which an extended Falsification Principle plays the role of an objectifying feedback; this spiral is related to an episteme of Evolutionary Constructive Objectivism proposed earlier for the coming knowledge civilisation age.

Keywords  Micro-theories of knowledge creation - multimedia principle - emergence principle - episteme of technology - evolutionary constructive objectivism - theory of truth - metaphysics - evolutionary knowledge creation

Andrzej Piotr Wierzbicki, ME (1960, telecommunications and control engineering), PhD (1964, nonlinear dynamics in control), DSc (1968, optimization and decision science), scientific title of Professor (a Central-European and Polish custom) 1976. Since 1971 worked at diverse roles in management of scientific research, including the positions of: (1975-78) the Dean of the Faculty of Electronics, Warsaw University of Technology; (1979–84) the Chairman of Systems and Decision Sciences Program of International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria; (1991–4, elected) a member of the State Committee for Scientific Research of Republic of Poland and the chairman of its Commission of Applied Research; (1996–2004) the Director General of the National Institute of Telecommunications in Poland. In 2004–2007 a research professor at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi, Ishikawa, Japan; now research professor at the National Institute of Telecommunications, Warsaw, Poland. Current interests include vector optimization, multiple criteria and game theory approaches, diverse aspects of negotiation and decision support, knowledge engineering, diverse issues of information society and knowledge civilization, rational theory of intuition, theories of knowledge creation and management, philosophy of technology in the context of informational revolution.

Yoshiteru Nakamori received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in applied mathematics and physics, from Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, in 1974, 1976, and 1980, respectively. He has served for the Department of Applied Mathematics, Konan University, Kobe, Japan, as an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor from 1981 to 1991, and as a Professor since 1991. In 1984–1985 he stayed at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria where he joined the Regional Water Policies Project. He joined Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in April 1998 as a professor of the School of Knowledge Science and later (2002–2008) served as the Dean of this School. Since 2003 he has been the leader of a 21st Century COE (Center of Excellence) program on theory and practice of technology creation based on knowledge science. His fields of research interest include identification and measurement optimization of large-scale complex systems, modeling and control of environmental systems, and methodology and software of decision support systems. Recent activities include development of modeling methodology based on hard as well as soft data, and support systems for soft thinking around hard data. Current topics include: modeling and simulation for large-scale complex systems, system development for environmental

policy-making support, and systems methodology based on Japanese intellectual tradition.