Localization concepts

Intrinsic rationality, as contrasted with substantive rationality, relies upon comparisons of attributes (gains versus losses) for each option rather then requiring the total ordering of preferences over all possible options. We may view intrinsic rationality as a local information concept, since only information pertaining to a particular option is involved in ordering the gain with respect to the loss. By contrast, we may view substantive rationality as a global information concept, since complete information regarding all options is required to form the rank ordering so that optimization can be performed.

One of the most successful concepts of science and engineering is the idea of localization. To localize a phenomenon is to delimit the extent of its influence. Some well-known examples of localization include: (i) model localization, such as lumped-parameter models that convert the partial differential equations of Maxwell's equations for modeling electromagnetic behavior into the ordinary differential equations of Kirchoff's laws; (ii) spatial localization, whereby a nonlinear dynamical system is constrained to operate near an equilibrium by confining inputs and initial conditions to be small enough to ensure that superposition approximately holds, thereby permitting the phenomenon to be characterized by a linear differential equation; (c) temporal localization, whereby a phenomenon is characterized over a small time interval, such as occurs with the design of a receding-horizon controller.