Binary erasure channel erasure channel which shares many similar theoretical results with the binary erasure channel. The BEC is a "binary channel"; that is, it can transmit only one of two symbols (usually called 0 and 1). (A non-binary channel would be capable of transmitting more than two symbols, possibly even an infinite number of choices.) The channel is not perfect and sometimes the bit gets "erased"; that is, the bit gets scrambled so the receiver has no idea what the bit was. The BEC is, in a sense, error-free. Unlike the binary symmetric channel, when the receiver gets a bit, it is
The purpose of a system is what it does be balanced by a more straightforwardly descriptive view. The term is used in many fields including biology and management. The purpose of a system is what it does The purpose of a system is what it does (POSIWID) is a systems thinking heuristic coined by Stafford Beer. Stafford Beer coined the term POSIWID and used it many times in public addresses. In his address to the University of Valladolid, Spain, in October 2001, he said "According to the cybernetician, the purpose of a system is what it does. This is a basic dictum. It stands for bald fact, which makes