THE WELCH COMPANY
440 Davis Court #1602
San Francisco, CA 94111-2496
415 781 5700
rodwelch@pacbell.net


S U M M A R Y


DIARY: October 28, 2000 06:07 PM Saturday; Rod Welch

Knowledge management difficult, architecture of human intelligence.

1...Summary/Objective
.................Poetry and Knowledge Management
2...Welch Provides Foundation for Knowledge Management
3...Linking Aids Understanding under Connectionist Theory in Cog Science
4...Context Positions Information in Knowledge Space

ACTION ITEMS.................. Click here to comment!

1...It helps to get a citation here about what was reviewed in order

CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Meaning Drift Poetry Impact Knowledge Management
AI Cannot Think No Biological Drives Cannot Map Human Experience
SDS Computer Aided Thinking
Knowledge Different from Information
Semiotics Knowledge = Communication + Meaning + Inference (Causation)
Cognitive Science
Human Memory, Brain, Organic
Knowledge Different from Information
Documents Have Information Knowledge is Connections Cause Effect in H
Knowledge Different from Books Documents Information
Architecture Human Thought Information and Knowledge

1813 -
1813 -    ..
1814 - Summary/Objective
1815 -
181501 - Follow up ref SDS 24 0000, ref SDS 23 0000.
181502 -
181503 - Received ref DRT 1 0001 from Paul Fernhout with a subject...
181504 -
181505 -
181506 -                 Poetry and Knowledge Management
181507 -
181508 -
181509 - ...which develops a number of important ideas in Communication
181510 - Metrics, semiotics and KM, per POIMS. ref OF 1 0001
181512 -  ..
181513 - Continues analysis of challenges designing KM from the record on
181514 - 001025. ref SDS 23 IK5F
181516 -  ..
181517 - Paul initially quotes an earlier letter he wrote that says in part...
181518 -
181519 -     ... I find links appealing in the sense of building up
181520 -     knowledgebases. ref DRT 1 0001
181522 -  ..
181523 - This aligns with Doug's OHS launch plan that seems to focus on linking
181524 - as the core function of the OHS effort, reviewed on 001025.
181525 - ref SDS 23 BDU6
181527 -  ..
181528 - Paul further says linking is a good way to communicate....
181529 -
181530 -     ...just because I want a system to use links internally to
181531 -     represent my changing knowledge base does not mean it is the best
181532 -     way to communicate. Let me present a challenge that makes the
181533 -     point: how do you hyperlink a poem for public display? Yes,
181534 -     creating links may be easy for you to do for yourself and your own
181535 -     interpretation, but how do you do it for others? ref DRT 1 0001
181536 -
181538 -  ..
181539 - Paul goes on to comment in his letter today that the differences and
181540 - similarities of Poetry and Knowledge Management is key to seeing the
181541 - effective limits of hyperlinking and maybe working through that into
181542 - ideas for better KM tools. ref DRT 1 806M
181543 -
181545 -  ..
181546 - Welch Provides Foundation for Knowledge Management
181547 -
181548 - Paul has reviewed Welch work on Knowledge Management, especially the
181549 - comments related to trying to define what KM means and who will use it
181550 - or pay for it or change their daily practices to get its benefits (if
181551 - any). Or, in other words, the OHS purpose and vision. ref DRT 1 317H
181552 -
181553 -     It helps to get a citation here about what was reviewed in order
181554 -     to understand the context, as noted by Gil Regev in his letter on
181555 -     001019. ref SDS 22 TF5H
181556 -
181557 -        [On 001121 Paul says SDS is inspirational. ref SDS 26 H23M
181559 -      ..
181560 -     On 000920 a letter to the DKR team discussed finding a customer
181561 -     for KM. ref SDS 14 2V5F
181563 -      ..
181564 -     On 001004 another letter addressed the same issue. ref SDS 17 0A3H
181566 -  ..
181567 - Paul has been thinking about the distinction between referencing text
181568 - and referencing concepts, ref DRT 1 467N, which was covered in
181569 - correspondence with Jack Park on 001025. ref SDS 23 6150
181571 -  ..
181572 - He feels poetry represents the Knowledge Management problem in a very
181573 - bright light. Poems are often intentionally ambiguous, with
181574 - interpretation expected oftentimes to depend on the reader. To an
181575 - extent, poetry describes all communications, even though the intent
181576 - may be to convey more precise meaning. ref DRT 1 N68J
181577 -
181578 -     Communication is all over the map, because it depends on emotional
181579 -     state, which varies according to circumstances constantly in flux.
181580 -     Sometimes communication is intended to be precise, at other times
181581 -     less so; it is sometimes purposely vague and/or misleading.  Often
181582 -     it is intended to be imprecise, but is precise, and sometimes it
181583 -     is intended to be vague and misleading, but is actually clear and
181584 -     illuminating.
181585 -
181587 -  ..
181588 - Linking Aids Understanding under Connectionist Theory in Cog Science
181589 -
181590 - Paul says linking is an attempt by the author to force (or make
181591 - convenient the movement of) the reader to a certain metaphorical
181592 - understanding of the linked item.  Yet, the reader may prefer other
181593 - links (either metaphorically or to other resources) depending on the
181594 - reader's needs or intents or interests. Or the reader may interpret a
181595 - reference, phrase, or link in a way other than as the author intended.
181596 - ref DRT 1 JU9G
181597 -
181598 -     Links in SDS are not created for readers, but for the writer,
181599 -     under the practice of thinking through writing, see POIMS.
181600 -     ref OF 1 3742
181602 -      ..
181603 -     Linking supports human mental architecture that makes connections
181604 -     to understand cause and effect in relation to context, i.e., who,
181605 -     what, when, where, why, and how.  Since life is complex, the mind
181606 -     can summarize a lot of analysis and history in a phrase or
181607 -     sentence, then link it to relevant details.  Linking summary to
181608 -     detail, permits grasping the gist of complex issues, i.e., the big
181609 -     picture, and yet still have quickly at hand the relevant details
181610 -     when needed, discussed in correspondence with Henry van Eykan on
181611 -     000927. ref SDS 15 PO4F
181613 -      ..
181614 -     This aspect of human mental architecture leverages limited mental
181615 -     strength and time.
181616 -
181618 -  ..
181619 - Paul gives a lucid explanation for the complexity of meaning and the
181620 - importance of context to understanding, ref DRT 1 HZ4K,
181621 -
181622 -     Landauer discusses the thorny issue of the meaning of "meaning,"
181623 -     in his paper on the knowledge acquisition, reviewed on 960321.
181624 -     ref SDS 2 2882
181625 -
181627 -  ..
181628 - Context Positions Information in Knowledge Space
181629 -
181630 - Augment's numbers are locations of paragraphs, like Rod Welch's
181631 - communication metrics numbers indicate lines on his web site pages.
181632 - (Both are somewhat more than that because they are hierarchical, so
181633 - fragments indicate larger textual units, and in Rod's case the date is
181634 - also encoded.) I would say though that what is being pointed to in a
181635 - "knowledge" sense is not so much a word or sentence or line or
181636 - paragraph, as much as a pointer into an ongoing presentation of
181637 - metaphors in a certain larger context.  To understand the intended
181638 - meaning of the word "tree" at a location on a web site, one must
181639 - understand the context around it. (Infinite regress up to
181640 - understanding the universe can be avoided by at some point us thinking
181641 - we understand the context of the conversation as a conventional one we
181642 - are used to working with.), ref DRT 1 IS3M
181643 -
181644 -     This perspective on Communication Metrics reflects analysis by
181645 -     Professor Joe Ransdell on 000721. ref SDS 12 E2FY
181647 -      ..
181648 -     Knowledge Space for context in relation to dimensional space is
181649 -     explained on 960620. ref SDS 3 3516
181650 -
181652 -  ..
181653 - Paul says... while it may be easy to think about pointing to textual
181654 - artifacts (messages, documents) it is hard to point to specific
181655 - "meanings".  At best we can say, I think that section of text is
181656 - intended to mean "X" where "X" is another set of signs.  So, to
181657 - reiterate, even when we point to the words, we are not pointing to the
181658 - meanings.  The sign is not the signified.  The words are not the
181659 - wisdom. This is common knowledge in sociology, communications studies,
181660 - and a bunch of other fields -- I'm just hammering on this point in
181661 - this context of designing knowledge management tools. ref DRT 1 V45I
181662 -
181663 -     Good analysis, should lead to computer aided thinking that
181664 -     leverages human thought.
181666 -      ..
181667 -     Using "signs" begins to address semiotics, per review on 000713,
181668 -     ref SDS 11 4078, and earlier review of Peirce's work on 000515.
181669 -     ref SDS 9 0784
181670 -
181671 -       [...in another record today, Paul explains error recovery that
181672 -       Eric Armstrong is addressing in the OHS may relate to similar
181673 -       difficulties getting code to automatically organize the record,
181674 -       Paul singles out email as an example. ref SDS 25 BH5H
181675 -
181677 -  ..
181678 - Paul relates the complexity of human thought, explained in POIMS,
181679 - ref OF 1 0561, that has hampered progress in AI, ref DRT 1 956O, which
181680 - reflects work by Jeromy Campbell reviewed on 900303. ref SDS 1 4284
181682 -  ..
181683 - You can't easily point to a bit of knowledge in a document, any more
181684 - than you can point to one dot in a painting by Georges Seurat (a
181685 - painter who created Pointilism) and say that is a picture by itself.
181686 - ref DRT 1 0I8L
181687 -
181688 -   http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/seurat/
181690 -    ..
181691 -   http://www.epcomm.com/center/point/point.htm
181692 -
181693 -     So, let's enhance alphabet technology to augment human
181694 -     intelligence?
181695 -
181696 -     Suppose we can connect stuff in documents in a way that helps the
181697 -     connections in the mind.  That might work.
181699 -  ..
181700 - Paul suggests... distinguish between creating memory aids and document
181701 - management systems, and creating artificial intelligences.  Obviously,
181702 - to the extent people are using memory aids, they are "augmenting"
181703 - themselves into being a sort of artificial intelligence.  This is not
181704 - an argument against AI; it is just to distinguish "AI" from "Knowledge
181705 - Management". ref DRT 1 LI9L
181706 -
181707 -     Very good, per Campbell on 900303. ref SDS 1 1088
181708 -
181710 -  ..
181711 - Anyway, I am trying to get at the issue that our understanding of a
181712 - knowledge management system has to rise above the notion that the
181713 - "knowledge" or "wisdom" being managed is in the computer system. It is
181714 - in the intelligences (typically based around people) of which the
181715 - knowledge management system may form a part (an aid for memory,
181716 - communication, and calculation). ref DRT 1 SK4I
181718 -  ..
181719 - Knowledge Management tools must soar above the mundanity (but
181720 - necessity) of managing chunks of texts, images, sounds and so on. This
181721 - is in line some with Doug's point about how the user (or user
181722 - community) must co-evolve with the tool and information in it. In
181723 - effect, the knowledge is distributed throughout the entire system. But
181724 - the system itself must still reflect the special needs of doing KM
181725 - which may require interfaces and processes different from more
181726 - conventional tools. What these interfaces and architectures should be
181727 - is a subject of debate -- obviously Augment or Memex or Xanadu set the
181728 - stage as archetypes. ref DRT 1 GN5F
181729 -
181730 -     Seems like we are veering off point here.  Focus on architecture
181731 -     of human thought, i.e., cognitive science, especially
181732 -     connectionist theory, semiotics, experience, memory, reasoning,
181733 -     etc., etc., etc.,...
181735 -  ..
181736 - Paul says knowledge is in the system including the people. When we
181737 - talk about knowledge management systems we are talking about systems
181738 - that help people or communities to manage their knowledge -- that help
181739 - people organize knowledge, communicate it, revise it, and so forth.
181740 - But that does not to mean we ever have to say the "knowledge" is in
181741 - the system, any more than we need to say that "knowledge" is in a
181742 - book. ref DRT 1 LO6G
181744 -  ..
181745 - A book may have words, and page numbers, and may inspire you, and tell
181746 - you things you didn't know -- but the knowledge in the book resides
181747 - more in the system of author and reader sharing certain metaphorical
181748 - backgrounds and thus being able to understand a certain communication
181749 - made in print. ref DRT 1 4P6O
181750 -
181751 -     We still need a definition of knowledge, but this is starting on
181752 -     the right foot.
181754 -      ..
181755 -     Knowledge distinct from books was discussed in a letter to Bill
181756 -     Beardon, ref DIP 1 O65N, on 000629. ref SDS 10 6934 and earlier on
181757 -     000208. ref SDS 5 LR5G
181759 -  ..
181760 - And one must admit, since the author and reader may never share
181761 - exactly the identical metaphorical background, the meaning of any
181762 - communication to the reader may not be what the author intended.
181763 - Perhaps one can call this meaning shift "concept drift?" Most
181764 - non-routine communications probably contain some element of "concept
181765 - drift", as I'm sure does this communication. ref DRT 1 IE3K
181766 -
181767 -     Meaning drift makes communication the biggest risk in enterprise,
181768 -     discussed in POIMS. ref OF 1 8316 and in NWO... ref OF 2 9449
181770 -  ..
181771 - But with enough communications, generally I would think the parties
181772 - begin to understand the other's metaphorical system, even if they may
181773 - decide not to share it in the sense of relate values or assignment of
181774 - "truth". Thus, they may come to better understand the intent of the
181775 - communications by the sender, even as they may still also interpret
181776 - the communication as poetry using their own metaphorical system.
181777 - ref DRT 1 9F4H
181778 -
181779 -     Combination of communication connected to relevant experience,
181780 -     i.e., context, along with specific calls for action and taking
181781 -     action over time builds shared meaning.
181783 -      ..
181784 -     When we write a letter saying I understand this and that, and
181785 -     intend to take such and such action, and further understand that
181786 -     you will take such and such action, this call to action in
181787 -     relation to why and wherefore, identifies different meaning
181788 -     quickly, so that effort can be made to build shared meaning.
181789 -
181791 -  ..
181792 - The bottom line: We'll never be able to point to the "Knowledge" in a
181793 - "Knowledge Management" system. But, that doesn't mean pointers into
181794 - text aren't useful, or that one can't construct tools to help manage
181795 - knowledge as it is communicated by text, images, sounds, and so on. Or
181796 - in other words, think of an Augment-ish library as communications
181797 - system (as opposed to an AI). Which brings us back to email as a good
181798 - vehicle... ref DRT 1 GF5O
181799 -
181800 -     Email is fine to deliver the mail.
181802 -      ..
181803 -     Maybe some kind of webmail can help create an effective Knowledge
181804 -     Space??
181806 -      ..
181807 -     Paul still has not defined "knowledge" to move beyond information
181808 -     management.  POIMS presents a theory of knowledge that draws on
181809 -     cognitive science, management science, and physicial science,
181810 -     i.e., correlating knowledge, intelligence, and experience, echoing
181811 -     Einstein, Peirce, Campbell. ref OF 1 0367
181812 -
181813 -
181814 -
181815 -
181816 -
181817 -
181818 -
181819 -
181820 -
1819 -