From: cyberoid@milton.u.washington.edu (Robert Jacobson)
Subject: Re: Sources of the concept of "information as space"? 
Date: Fri, 10 Jan 1992 06:28:43 GMT
Organization: Human Interface Technology Lab, Univ. of Wash., Seattle



In article <1992Jan10.052121.29447@watserv1.waterloo.edu> dstamp@watserv1.
waterloo.edu (Dave Stampe-Psy+Eng) writes:

>I see concept space as more of a directed graph, where connections 
>can show different strengths based on direction, as opposed to a 
>Euclidian "undirected" graph.  This only makes sense, because B may 
>imply A whereas A does not imply B, and much of neural learning is 
>based on predictive powers.
>
>An interesting corrolary of this is that each person's conceptual
>map may be unique: the overall configuration is set by the environment,
>but details such as order of learning probably result in unique
>"basis functions" for the network.  No one can tell, as long as the
>output makes sense in terms of the input.  So if you want to utilize 
>a person's conceptual space at more than a superficial level, you may 
>have to do a unique mapping for each person.

In fact, this is a problem in geography, made more apparent by the 
emergence of "user-friendly" (hardly) GIS technology:  there are apparent
"frictions" that turn routes that look shorter on the screen into long
roundabouts, based on the conceptual understanding of individuals.  For 
example, traffic congestion makes the desirable route not the straight 
freeway but the curvy side road.  Or, the place with the big, biting dog com-
pels a detour from this side of the street, on which I live and (further
down) catch the bus, to the other side of the street.  But it's shorter
than getting bitten, going to the hospital, and then catching my bus.
How can one model such discrepancies using Euclidean-based "reason"?

Social geographers have known about these phenomena for a long time.
(Another, more famous one is the experience of turning the Mercator
projection into a true model; or simply turning it upside down.  This
literally changes one's worldview.)  But how to deal with them, now that
we are into digital mapping of space?

Bob