Revisiting my position on exemplar vs prototype theories. I may need to put it to use. (from last year)
“I think I generalize “differently” than I’m supposed to. Chronically. As in, that’s just how I am. So if I’m working from exemplars, I get results that don’t always match up to reality — or frequently don’t. But prototypes, which are general rules, don’t have to correspond to anything specifically but can be broad enough within their own ranges to encompass any exemplar sufficiently that one might throw at it that is accurate to the meaning of the prototype.
Oh, gosh that means I’m endorsing gaussian, smeary vague mono … but wait, no it’s not because it’s hierarchical. It has different scales. Not a scale free system. Each scale can be functionally independent until you get to the interfaces, although upon zooming in they do interact.”
—
Amazed at the human body: Everyday stuff that’s practically theoretical physics complex:
I collecting groceries to bring to the house. Three large bottles of water with handles, opening up a bag and putting loose items in, opening up the bag, and putting things in while holding the bottles, configuring and reconfiguring the positions of my fingers clasped around the handles of each, shifting them around from one side to the other until I got the perfect configuration where I could shut the door with a loose elbow…
…and I thought to myself as I’m doing it, “How many calculations would it take to figure out that *this* is one of the optimum configurations of my fingers, hands, twists, elbows, shoulders, in relation to my body in relation to each of the items I’m carrying, and the steps I did to get there?
What I did was everyday. We all do it. Yet think how mathematically amazing it is if we tried to get the formula to calculate all of that.
I don’t think our brains do all of those calculations though. There’s a concept called Affordances, which makes a little more sense to me. It’s hard to grasp at first, but basically “things find themselves in the optimum configuration at any given moment given the circumstances they find themselves in”. In short, they do what they’re able given the situation and changing as it the situation changes.
Anyway, Jes Scott I thought of you when this was happening. All that being said, this is everyday theoretical physics level math, imo.
—
[responsivevoice_button voice="US English Male"]