John, (01)
Can't see how this is relevant. (02)
It seems like you have interpreted my reference to "geometric
theories" as a reference to our perception of space. (03)
I was thinking more of gauge theories in physics or Category Theory in maths. (04)
I would welcome comments on a possible relationship between gauge
theories in physics, Category Theory in maths, and semantics. (05)
-Rob (06)
On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 9:34 PM, John F. Sowa <sowa@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Rob,
>
> In my 1984 book, I emphasized that both continuous and discrete aspects
> are fundamental to perception, cognition, and reasoning. I also cited
> Kenneth Pike's _Unified Theory of Human Behavior_ in which he showed
> how that distinction extends to every aspect of human life.
>
> RF> In contrast your "pursuing" presentation
> >
> > http://www.jfsowa.com/talks/pursuing.pdf
> > mentioned what you call "continuous" theories which should be
> > seen as underlying discrete categories.
> >
> > Is that a change? Are you moving from a "network of theories"
> > model to an underlying "continuous" model?
>
> The big brains of the primates evolved for the purpose of
> coordinating rather heavy monkeys and apes as they swung from tree
> to tree. It's no accident that human aviators have a remarkable
> ability in aerial dogfights. Any of their remote ancestors who
> didn't have good hand-eye coordination in high-speed 3-D action
> were summarily removed from the gene pool.
>
> On the other hand (or brain), the purpose of perception is to
> subdivide continuous reality into familiar percepts or concepts
> to which well-learned responses can be applied instantly without
> requiring lengthy chains of reasoning. The words of language
> are naturally tied to those percepts and concepts.
>
> The great advance of Homo sapiens over the apes results from the
> possibility of metalevel reasoning about those discrete units.
> Logic is an abstraction from that aspect of language. (See my
> next note in response to Pat Hayes.)
>
> John (07)
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