Referent system
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A referent system is that which is inside the borders of a given system. A referent system can be seen in a diagram as a group of elements, for example, inside a square. In mathematics, the system is seen as a set. In General System Theory Squared, the system is seen as a frame (the borders) with elements inside the system. Outside the system is another: an observer. It is that observer who creates the elements within our system.
The concept of a referent system, thereby, is not all that complicated: it is a box full of rocks. The only difference is that the rocks are created by someone observing the box. How? When a given person looks at something, perceptual filters are used. Those filters are creative. They are created by the observer. What is created is a perception that is not exactly that being observed. People look, then think. The thinking creates not another box of rocks inside the mind but rather a perception of that box of rocks. Thereby, in the mind's eye is not the box of rocks but rather a perception of it. The two are not identical. The difference is essential and profound.
