"I argue that this mental model is a figment of your imagination..."
In other words, a mental model. Frank Frank Wimberly Phone (505) 670-9918 On Apr 22, 2017 9:48 AM, "┣glen┫" <[email protected]> wrote: > Excellent! Thanks for providing some concrete context. I now realize you > are focusing on a describable subset of the amorphous cloud of the word > "model". Progress in the argument is impossible without that. And I'll > try to avoid the endless caveats, qualifiers, and prefixes for the > ambiguous term by using what i've argued elsewhere (in the papers I've > helped publish) are standard English words, namely "analog" and "measure". > > When you talk about the analogs you made out of basswood, these are > fundamentally different from whatever cluster of concepts we might > arbitrarily carve out of your nervous system and call a "mental model". I > argue that this "mental model" is a figment of your imagination. What is > real is the analog (starting with a block of wood) and your sensorimotor > manifold driven by your nervous system. That entire collection, system, > including the block of wood, the knives, sandpaper, etc. includes little, > tiny measures. These are quite distinguishable from your "Lufkin tape > measure", which is, itself much more than a measure (or not really a > measure at all). That "Lufkin tape measure" is an analog. The way you > measure things with it is by analogy. You take the analog and set it > alongside another (non-mental, concrete) object. That analogical reasoning > process is what we call "taking a measurement". > > You do the exact same thing when you pick the block of wood up into your > hand. You "get a feeling for" the block of wood by analogy with your hand > (and the distance between your eyeballs, etc). That act: picking up, > holding, turning over, the block of wood _is_ measuring. You're "taking > measure" of the block (and the rest of the context, including the tools you > will choose). And the measures involved are analogical > reasoning/comparisons between parts of your body and the thing being > measured. > > We call both measures and analogs "models" in our sloppy language. But it > should be clear that measures are much more primitive and fundamental than > the overwhelming majority of other things we call "model". Similarly, > analogs are often called "concrete models", like your basswood boat or > Redfish's sand table. Sure, we _could_ call these "concrete models". But > why would we unless we were trapped in a word salad tossing argument with a > bunch of philosophers? We have other words that are more specific and > useful like "analog". And when we compare and contrast our analogs with > their referents, then we are _measuring_ the less familiar via the more > familiar. > > > On 04/21/2017 06:40 PM, Vladimyr wrote: > > Glen, making you nauseous was not my intention. > > So some models use Rigid Metrics > > others seem to be Pattern Comparisons > > and then there are Neural Models > > > > I have been labouring for some time on another which was once thought > by myself to be > > a machine motion algorithm but when graphically displayed looked > extraordinarily like a sea creature. > > So some appeared to have petal structures so I applied some desperate > measures and named them in my mind > > as belonging to a class of creatures having a integer number of > petals.0.. 48 before the computer balked in protest. > > These were in every case peculiar rectangular matrices, having some > properties of networks. So applying colors only > > to edges produced some spectacular transformations not imagined in 2D > spreadsheets. > > I constructed a hallucination and named it a Mental Model. By Jacking it > up to 4D since now it grows, these phantoms > > plague my sleep and friendships. I am converting them to 3D .obj files > and intend to print one when it is not writhing before my eyes. > > > > The printer imposes dimensions for the first time due to the containment > box, design envelope. This is a trivial Scaling Problem, so it seems. > > > > Once many years ago I designed boats and started with Half Models in > basswood. Then lifted (lofted) the lines to paper so it would > > fit in my shop and out the doors. So those models existed in my mind > before any sawdust fell to the floor. > > I tried to teach this approach with mixed success. Students thought I > had plans secreted away, I did read many but rarely used them. > > > > I think the act of carving the little half models was a procedure > familiar to sculptors Where the artist's intentions shape the medium and > > he is guided by heuristics back checking reality with mental imagery > until satisfied. Much later does the Lufkin tape Measure show up. > > In my case a Digital Caliper. Indeed I cheated often, first surface > mirrors and black glue lines that served as grid lines and more. > > > > But measurement was not as important as students imagined. It was my > assumption it would fall into place of its own accord. > > Scale and proportion might be aesthetics but seem very powerful early on. > > > > My daughter hated writing because she obsessed over page margins and > font sizes and type. > > I suggested blank paper and a pencil and was accused of being > insensitive. > > My own son always wanted to build things but I always demanded a sketch > first, he never complied so he now sells things made by others. > > > > By the time I finished a little wooden half model of a boat the bulk of > design work was over and only then did my crew go to work. > > So where was the Model that drove all this effort,,, > > > > I gather you are suggesting that we get used to specifying the type of > Model with a prefix, not a bad idea, just imagine the chaos if we only > > used the term Ball to describe all sports. > > -- > ␦glen? > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
