A Subjective Measure of Complexity Advances in Complex Systems, 2 (4) 1999: 349-370.
Abstract
This article presents a quantitative measure of complexity, subjectively
understood as a property of the relationship between a system and its
observer instead of as a property of the system itself. Within this
framework, complexity is quantified by assuming to know the mental
categories and the mental model by which a system is represented in the mind
of its observer.
It is argued that this subjectivist concept of complexity is not in contrast
with objective measures of complexity introduced in particular domains, but
generalizes complexity to domains where no objective measure is feasible. An
extensive numerical example is presented and thoroughly discussed.