The Way of Interpreting Cultures and Responsibilities around Us - Assignment Example

Assignment I.D. of the Assignment 1. Conceptual Analysis It is a sad reality around us that in general, we really don’t know how our language originated. For example, if people who are specialist in linguistics sciences are excluded, then most of the individuals in our society do not know about Latin origins of English words or the root of a given verb. We are consistently using suffixes and prefixes but do not know that how they originated. However, language remains the driving force of human cognitive activity. If a researcher plans to stay not only in the courts of the dialectic, he/she should practice conceptual analyses repeatedly. Contextually, Sowa (1984, p. 230) states that it is wrong to “blur such distinctions as under vs. over or in vs. on;” and pictorial representations can be pretty helpful in addressing these issues while constructing a language based schema. Only when the researcher has progressed in it, there is the hope that he/she has mastered strategies that can assist in implementing Sowa-Sloman heuristics. Roughly, the Sowa-Sloman heuristics (Sowa 1984) consist of two major phases. At the first phase, this heuristic paradigm uses type and token distinction system. Subsequently, Aristotle’s idea of inheritable systems under a type (or assign category) is used. In the second phase, analysis is to be done. So first a schema is to be constructed, and then the sets of data in question would be ontologically mapped onto this schema. Sowa (1984) started with conceptual graphs, but then developed characteristics of diagrams in his graphs. It can be debated that whether he enriched or modified standard graph theory in mathematical sense, but without such a manipulation through Sowa-Sloman heuristics artificial intelligence cannot become comprehensive when tackling problems related to aesthetics rather than mathematics. The concept of picture is important for me. However, if I see a picture, or more precisely, a piece of art mounted on a wall, I will not be able to understand it without organising my thoughts. So if I implemented the Sowa-Sloman heuristics, I would first seek to understand that what kind of picture do I see? So I have to create a schema. Suppose this schema has three categories. The concept under category 1 would define oil paintings. Inheriting this characteristic from the super class of this category, I will then seek to know whether the artwork has been created by a professional artist or an amateur artist. If by a professional artist, then to which school of art does it belong? If by an amateur artist, then is the work in abstract form or does it give a realist impression? In the second category, let me place charcoal paintings and in the third category, let be place artworks out of the first two categories. After that, I would create systematic schemas and sub-schemas in these two categories as well. So now if I go to an art exhibition, I can understand the artworks presented before me more quickly with the help of my pre-existing custom-made schemas, where I have correlated concepts like ‘professional’ with phrases like ‘school of art’. However, if I am shown artworks that are not mounted on a wall, my entire heuristic system will fail to implement a technique of classification! Another example can be that of heat. I can use schematic classifications to describe heat … Now say if a substance like iron is heated, it will first become red. At this stage, let’s call it red hot. Next, on more heating it becomes yellow. We can call it super hot. Next, more heat applied will make it white and glowing; and further suppose we identify this stage as white hot. So now the ontology for this graphically increasing amount of heat will associate colours with amount of heat. In this way, Sowa-Sloman heuristic can help in developing diagrammatic graphs to understand certain quantitative concepts in a vivid and interesting manner. Figure 1: A rough diagram-cum-graph relating the concept of heat with colours (Source: Author) 2. Pictures Semiotics can be understood as the art and science of understanding that how an observer comprehends the meaning of a picture, a sign, a symbol, a diagram, etc. This comprehension cannot be out of context. For example, a red flag flying in a factory may denote trade unionism. But a red flag flying by the side of a railway track may denote an indication of danger or a signal to stop. Signs and representations often play a critical role in determining the course of human cognitive activities. One could even hold that the essence of cognitive activities is to understand and work with representations in the realm of analyses involving ontology, heuristics, and systems thinking. The representation of problems or issues with sign to meaning correlations means, semiotics is the transformation of such representations according to the rules of a particular representation system. Contextually, evidence can be defined as the representation of a set as implicating other rates within the framework of a consistent representation system. Likewise, generalisation can be defined as the restructuring of such representation systems including new, symbolically denoted ideal objects. Since the ideal objects and objectivity of semiotics are never directly detected and experienced, we need signs and representations. Our perception and knowledge are mediated by representations. These are firstly the actual items of logical activity, and on the other hand they are a means for the further development of systematic knowledge.  In Hall’s (2012) works, we not only find a detailed introduction to semiotics but also come across vivid examples. It is not wise indeed to trivialise human tendencies and understandings when an observer digs into a meaning thought to be behind a representation. This representation can be an object in shape or a colour in the form of light. Furthermore, our senses of decency and suitability depend on this kind of semiotic understanding of what we actually see or when we show something to mean something else. In Figure 2, we show an excerpt from Hall’s (2012) book This Means This and This Means That: A User’s Guide to Semiotics. In this figure, two men are shown standing side by side. However, both the men have dressed disparately. The unsuitability of a sports cap with three piece suit is evident. On the other side, combination of a large black hat with pads and gloves looks queer. However, it is not unnatural but our stereotypical dress sense tells us that it is unsuitable and something has really gone very wrong. Figure 2: “Is it odd to combine clothes in this way?” (Hall 2012, p. 137) In Figure 3, we find the snapshot of a red cap. Of course, a cap can be worn by anybody. Wearing a cap can be a matter of comfort or aesthetic. However, stereotypes or symbolisation patterns regarding different cultures would not let us think so simply. The cap shown in Figure 3 represents the culture of Turkey in particular. This clearly makes us think about the wonderful fact that even a cap may come to represent a national culture as an object of nationality. This explains the objectivity of our thought processes in the sense that we are not that uncomfortable to work out relationships between complex subjects with simple objects. In Figure 4, we find a couple standing by the corner of a large moor. However, there is again a problem. Hall (2012) raises the question that whether this scene is a portrait or a landscape. The question is strange. The picture is basically pretty and colourful. Possibly, the two central characters are those of a married couple or a girlfriend with her boyfriend. But then the unnecessary confusion arises when the viewer takes note of the large stretch of moor. Why did the painter select to create so much large and detailed scenic beauty? The work could be easily and purposively constrained around the two human figures keeping them at the centre of the frame. However, this kind of confusion can still be deemed as unnecessary simply because it should be the artist’s discretion on how he/she is going to picture his/her subject. Yet, the sense of objectivity and urge of correlating one thing with another (often unreasonably in practical sense) give rise to semiotics. Figure 3: A Turkish cap (Hall 2012, p. 55) Figure 4: Picture of a couple or picture of scenic beauty? (Hall 2012, p. 153) 3. Mental Models According to Senge (2006), mental models are covered under the broader realm of systems thinking when we attempt to understand the constructs of a learning organisation. Systems thinking can be thought of as an important part of the knowledge management infrastructure of a company, where employees must not only be trained but also inspired to apply systems thinking with the aid of inputs from their own perspectives. In this way, a learning organisation can take advantage of experiential learning on the part of the employees across the hierarchy. Thus, systematic learning does not remain an imperative but emerge as a good corporate habit. However, problems might occur if “managers believe their world views are facts rather than sets of assumptions” (Senge 2006, p. 187). I came across a situation when my mental model contradicted that of someone else’s. This happened in my college days. I had just cleared my school education then. I was placed in a group of four batch mates to do an environmental project. I was the assistant secretary while Robson was the chief secretary of the team. We were supposed to research on and write about the flora and fauna of a garden located near the college building. Soon I noted that Robson would send a girl to collect the weeds and shrubs whenever necessary. This girl was Zara, a junior member of the team. At first I took the matter lightly. But then one day I asked Robson to send Zara to computer lab. We were supposed to conduct some computer based statistical research with the plant samples we had collected. Robson vigorously opposed me. So I asked, “Why, Chief, why can’t we send Zara to the computer lab even for a single day?” Robson gave a strange reply. He said, “Don’t you know this girl has come from Bangladesh? People in third world countries are better kept occupied with manual work such as collecting weeds and all.” I was surprised and lost my speech for a while. Then I said, “Okay, let’s send her for a computer training programme.” But Robson protested again and said, “A girl from a third world country is generally not familiar with computers and she will take a lot of time to learn.” I knew that Robson was not exactly a racist but he was doubtful towards Bangladesh’s IT educational system. So then I told Robson that we must give Zara a chance since according to her qualifications she was supposed to be familiar with computers. Fortunately, I was able to convince Robson and I managed to select Zara for computer lab assignments too. So my world view regarding the technological developments in the third world countries like Bangladesh helped me and my team to avoid unnecessary discrimination. Another incident took place when I was in internship. One of my senior colleagues would avoid the number thirteen. She would never show up on the thirteenth of a month. She would always hang up and push someone else to do the thirteenth entry in office ledger. She would never take her lunch at 1 p.m. because it is the thirteenth hour of the day. On enquiring about this, she said she had seen the painting called Last Supper and believed the number thirteen was somehow responsible for crucifying Jesus Christ! I attempted a lot to convince her that there was no scientific evidence behind such a conception, but my senior colleague’s mental model was so vivid and pictorial impression of Michelangelo’s Last Supper was so profound that I angered her in doing this. Ultimately, I think that mental models are an integral part of our systematic way of interpreting cultures and responsibilities around us. It is not necessary that we are always able to remain conscious about the rationality of our sporadic mental pictures that culminate at our unique mental models. References Hall, S. (2012). This Means This and This Means That: A User’s Guide to Semiotics. London: Lawrence King Publishing Senge, P.M. (2006). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation. London and New York: Currency/Doubleday Sowa, J.F. (1984). Conceptual Structures: Information Processing in Mind and Machine. London: Addison-Wesley Read More