determi

Determi is a fictional term used in this article to denote a scalar measure of determinacy in a dynamical or statistical system. While not a standard term in established theory, determi is employed in teaching notes and thought experiments to illustrate how determinacy and randomness may be quantified.

Origin and terminology: The word determi is a blend of determinism and a common mathematical suffix and is presented here as a neologism rather than a formal concept with recognized consensus. It has no fixed dimension or units outside the definitions provided in a given model.

Definition: In the usual construction, determi is a real-valued function D that assigns to a given model configuration and context a value in the interval [0,1]. Higher values indicate that the outcome is largely determined by initial conditions; lower values indicate greater influence of stochastic factors, external perturbations, or internal randomness. In a fully deterministic model, D = 1; in a fully stochastic model, D = 0.

Extensions and usage: Researchers may use determi to compare models, conduct sensitivity analyses, or discuss interpretability. Variants may map into different spaces, such as a per-variable determi score or a global determi for entire simulations. In education, determi serves as a didactic device to discuss how determinacy emerges from model structure and initial data.

Comparison with related ideas: Determi relates to concepts such as determinism, sensitivity to initial conditions, Lyapunov exponents, and chaos theory, but it is not a formal measure in those fields. Its utility lies in clarifying qualitative differences between deterministic and probabilistic frameworks.

See also: Determinism, Deterministic models, Stochastic processes, Chaos theory, Sensitivity analysis.