Relations and Functions

Abstract

In the life sciences not all relationships are of a quantitative nature. Although future scientists may be able to understand cells, viruses, genes, antibodies, etc. in terms of molecules, their structure is so complex that a description will be more or less qualitative. The study of interconnections between cells, either by chemical or by electrical exchange, calls for mathematical tools that are not simply formulas. How an organ operates, its response to a stimulus, or how an individual behaves can hardly be expressed by numbers alone. Therefore, in this chapter we give definitions that are wide enough to comprise qualitative as well as quantitative properties.