astronomy

Michael Commons

Michael Commons is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Michael Commons rather than just read about it. In short: Michael Lamport Commons (born 1939) is a theoretical behavioral scientist and a complex systems scientist. He developed the model of hierarchical complexity.

Key takeaways

Michael Commons belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Michael Commons to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Michael Commons from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Michael Lamport Commons (born 1939) is a theoretical behavioral scientist and a complex systems scientist. He developed the model of hierarchical complexity.

Life and work Michael Lamport Commons was born in 1939 in Los Angeles and grew up in Hollywood. Commons holds two B.A.s from University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), one in mathematics, the other in psychology. He earned his M.A., and M.Phil. and in 1973 received his Ph.D., in psychology from Columbia University. Currently, he is Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School), and Director of the Dare Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts. His research interest is the quantitative analysis of psychological reality as it develops across the life span. With Francis Asbury Richards, Edward Trudeau, and Alexander Pekker, he developed the model of hierarchical complexity, a mathematical psychology model. He is one of the cofounders of Society for Quantitative Analysis of Behavior, the Society for Research in Adult Development, the European Society for Research in Adult Development, the Society for Terrorism Research, and the Developmental Behavior Analysis Special Interest Group in the Association for Behavior Analysis International. He is on the governing board of the Journal of Behavior Analysis Online. He is the past co-editor of the journal Behavioral Development Bulletin and the Journal of Behavior Analysis Online. He was a senior editor of Quantitative Analyses of Behavior, Volumes 1–11 and of four volumes on Adult Development including Beyond Formal Operations: Late Adolescent and Adult Cognitive Development and Clinical Approaches to Adult Development, as well as associate editor for a special issue of Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior on the nature of reinforcement. He is the consulting editor of Moral Development Series.

The model of hierarchical complexity

The model of hierarchical complexity (MHC), developed by Commons, is a way of measuring the complexity of a behavior. The MHC uses mathematical principles to quantify behavioral characteristics, assigning individuals to stages based on properly completed tasks. It can be used cross-culturally, across different species, and even for computers, and allows us to treat behavior accurately and in all-or-nothing terms. The MHC has many useful applications, such as in therapy, interventions, the development of organizations, etc.

Organizations

Dare Association Commons has been a part of the Dare Association, "an independent not-for-profit organization. Dare Association supports endeavors in the science and arts, especially behavioral science programs." The International Health, Education and Development Division of Dare Association focuses on collaborating in the goal "of improving the wellbeing of people in developing countries".

Dare Institute The Dare Institute is a group led by the Dare Association. This group is devoted to research in psychological topics such as human development, psychiatry and the law, political psychology, behavioral economics, and cognitive science.

Core Complexity Assessments Commons is also associated with Core Complexity Assessments, a company that uses research in developmental psychology to pair candidates with jobs. Core Complexity Assessments' "tools are designed to help companies and managers hire smarter, retain workers, invest in employee development and human resources planning, and thereby shape the future organizational structure of the company".

Patents Commons, with Mitzi Sturgeon White, was issued a patent related to hierarchical stacked neural networks.

Publications

Selected books 1984, Beyond formal operations: Vol. 1. Late adolescent and adult cognitive development. with F. A. Richards & C. Armon (Eds.), New York: Praeger.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Michael Commons

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Michael Commons claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Michael Commons before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Michael Commons ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Michael Commons

In research: Michael Commons appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Michael Commons in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Michael Commons is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1939 births, Columbia University alumni, Complex systems scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Michael Commons outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Michael Commons in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Michael Commons means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Michael Commons out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Michael Commons in simple terms?

Michael Lamport Commons (born 1939) is a theoretical behavioral scientist and a complex systems scientist. He developed the model of hierarchical complexity.

Why does Michael Commons matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Michael Commons?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Michael Commons.