Linear Dynamical Systems (Enhanced Edition‪)‬

To create an axiomatic theory of systems, dictates of logic demand the
introduction of various definitions and terminology restricting the universe
of discourse to a well-defined class of objects, which may then be analyzed
according to the usual methods and tools of mathematics and logic. However,
to anyone who has had occasion to practice in the field of"systems analysis,"
such a program seems self-defeating from the very outset because an attempt
to verbalize precisely what one means by the intuitively understood entity
"system" seems immediately to restrict the terms to such a degree that the
next" system" problem encountered no longer fits within the confines of the
definition. Consequently, we shall forego definition of such a vague, but
basic, concept and restrict our attention in this book to the most important
subset of the class of general systems-the linear systems.