Paradigms and puzzles in the theory of dynamical systems

A self-contained exposition is given of an approach to mathematical models, in particular, to the theory of dynamical systems. The basic ingredients form a triptych, with the behavior of a system in the center, and behavioral equations with latent variables as side panels. The author discusses a variety of representation and parametrization problems, in particular, questions related to input/output and state models. The proposed concept of a dynamical system leads to a new view of the notions of controllability and observability, and of the interconnection of systems, in particular, to what constitutes a feedback control law. The final issue addressed is that of system identification. It is argued that exact system identification leads to the question of computing the most powerful unfalsified model