IV) Abstractions and judgements
When the third thing is introduced an abstraction is made.
That moment when a continuous function takes on a discrete shape. The moment when we utilize a metric, so that instead of saying something is better or worse we say it is in a different category. That is the moment when we create the idea of the category. The category provides a framework to describe the abstraction we just made by saying these two things are more similar to each other than to a third thing.
It is also the moment when we lose something, we go from an infinite potential to a specific realization. We make a judgement call.
https://ashlag-cause-and-kook-affect.blogspot.com/2018/12/being-judgmental-is-necessary-for.html
Abstractions are both the key element in learning and the realization of a judgement, a phase transition. I want to define learning, as opposed to memorization and prediction, as a method for creating a model. A model is a compact representation of the data, all those observations which hopefully are too numerous to remember. Our relatively small memory and our need to communicate efficiently forces us to create abstractions.
Way back when a bit after we sold Mobilee to NMS Communications, I found myself without a job and not sure what to do. I was sitting with Zvi Wolicki at his house when Daniel Swirksy came in, we talked briefly and the next thing I knew I was working for Daniel as a patent liaison.
Crafting patents was about finding the perfect new word. You need to find a new word, because you need to prove that the idea is a new creation. And in a patent the best way to prove an idea is with a word.
Creativity and naming go hand in hand, more on that later when we get to semiotics. But for now lets enjoy the creative speech act and be aware when people throw more data at us without creating abstraction to communicate more efficiently.
So, here are some examples of poor communication skill without efficient use of language. Look for an overly long description. A good communication builds on itself. A good scientific proposal introduces a new term, defines it and then employs that term to communicate.
Look for people adding more and more low level data without providing abstractions. For example: please pass the object, in the container, that is on the left, made out of silver as opposed to please pass the salt shaker. Note how not only is the first phrase long (large minimum description length MDL), but it includes multiple dimensions -- position (left), material (silver). While the second phrase employs a nice fancy word, that provides a higher level semantic.
That moment when a continuous function takes on a discrete shape. The moment when we utilize a metric, so that instead of saying something is better or worse we say it is in a different category. That is the moment when we create the idea of the category. The category provides a framework to describe the abstraction we just made by saying these two things are more similar to each other than to a third thing.
It is also the moment when we lose something, we go from an infinite potential to a specific realization. We make a judgement call.
https://ashlag-cause-and-kook-affect.blogspot.com/2018/12/being-judgmental-is-necessary-for.html
Abstractions are both the key element in learning and the realization of a judgement, a phase transition. I want to define learning, as opposed to memorization and prediction, as a method for creating a model. A model is a compact representation of the data, all those observations which hopefully are too numerous to remember. Our relatively small memory and our need to communicate efficiently forces us to create abstractions.
Way back when a bit after we sold Mobilee to NMS Communications, I found myself without a job and not sure what to do. I was sitting with Zvi Wolicki at his house when Daniel Swirksy came in, we talked briefly and the next thing I knew I was working for Daniel as a patent liaison.
Crafting patents was about finding the perfect new word. You need to find a new word, because you need to prove that the idea is a new creation. And in a patent the best way to prove an idea is with a word.
Creativity and naming go hand in hand, more on that later when we get to semiotics. But for now lets enjoy the creative speech act and be aware when people throw more data at us without creating abstraction to communicate more efficiently.
So, here are some examples of poor communication skill without efficient use of language. Look for an overly long description. A good communication builds on itself. A good scientific proposal introduces a new term, defines it and then employs that term to communicate.
Look for people adding more and more low level data without providing abstractions. For example: please pass the object, in the container, that is on the left, made out of silver as opposed to please pass the salt shaker. Note how not only is the first phrase long (large minimum description length MDL), but it includes multiple dimensions -- position (left), material (silver). While the second phrase employs a nice fancy word, that provides a higher level semantic.
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