Phil, (01)
> Redefinition of "CNL" is a minor issue, at most. (02)
Amen. Following is the definition from Wikipedia and from the CNL
page at https://sites.google.com/site/controllednaturallanguage/ (03)
"Controlled Natural Languages are subsets of natural languages whose
grammars and dictionaries have been restricted in order to reduce or
eliminate both ambiguity and complexity. Traditionally, controlled
natural languages fall into two major categories: those that improve the
readability for human readers, in particularly for non-native speakers,
and those that improve the computational processing of a text." (04)
I think that definition is as good as any and better than most.
But I'd add that diagrams are helpful as a supplement. (05)
> Do blind people think with images? (06)
They most certainly do. The occipital lobes, which are the primary
projection area for visual input in the cortex, do not atrophy even
in people who are blind from birth. Instead, fMRI scans show that
they are as active in congenitally blind people as in sighted people
for the same kinds of reasoning processes. (07)
In the brain stem, visual input goes first to the superior colliculus,
where it is related to auditory input in the inferior colliculus. That
combination is responsible for directing involuntary eye movements.
It is also essential for enabling the occipital lobes to form panoramic
3-D "mental models" that integrate visual, auditory, and tactile input
with memories of previous perceptual information. (08)
The occipital lobes differ from the other sensory areas in the cortex
in having nearly as many downward (efferent) links to the brain stem
and cerebellum as they have upward (afferent) links from the brain stem.
Even without visual input, they get sufficient inputs from other sources
to support 3-D models of the environment. (09)
Much more research in all these areas is necessary. I won't claim that
my summary covers all the bases, but I tried to give a fairly balanced
survey supported with citations: http://www.jfsowa.com/talks/goal2.pdf (010)
If you find any references that clarify or conflict with any points
I make in goal2.pdf or the other goal-N slides, please let me know. (011)
John (012)
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