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From: ba672@lafn.org (Arthur T. Murray)
Subject: Re: Models/theories in psychology
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Reply-To: ba672@lafn.org (Arthur T. Murray)
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Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 18:04:35 GMT
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In a previous article, Andrew Babian <ababian@cruzio.com> writes:

> [...]  Sometimes the features described by a model are only a
> small fraction of the features available.  It is quite likely
> that this model  will depend on a host of other models and ideas
> (science is much like a web).

Unfortunately the host of other models and ideas draws from so wide
and multidisciplinary a range of sources (neurophysiology, biology,
psychology, linguistics, computer science, logic) that most new and
comprehensive theories of mind will face an impenetrable barrier of
simple non-comprehension by specialists unable to generalize ideas.

> Not all models have to be complete.  Psychology especially has to
> have very incomplete and partial models, of necessity.  Patching
> together relationships between models is pretty complicated, but
> generally there is some kind of outer edge to the realm of known
> (modelled) things such that new models just get attached to the fringe.
> I suspect that psychology does not yet have an established framework
> for a full model of mind, and there may be something of a hodge-podge.

Behold a full model of mind as depicted in the diagram below and at
http://www.newciv.org/Mentifex/ or as found by Mentifex Web search.

> Even an inaccurate model can be useful.  Maybe it works under
> some conditions and we just need to add more models for different
> conditions.  Maybe this model could be simply modified to work,
> or maybe it will work in a different situation.  Even a complete
> wrong model could be of some use.  [...]

Yes, as something for philosophers of mind to react against and use
in fashioning a truer, better, more durable theory of intelligence.

>>> /^^^^^^^^^^^\ Top-down Overview; Details on WWW /^^^^^^^^^^^\
   /visual memory\           ________   semantic   /  auditory   \
  |      /--------|-------\ / syntax \  memory    |episodic memory|
  |      |  recog-|nition | \________/<-----------|-------------\ |
  |   ___|___     |       |    |flush-vector      |    _______  | |
  |  /image  \    |    ___V____V___  word-fetch   |   /stored \ | |
  | / percept \<--|-->/ conceptual \--------------|->/ phonemes\| |
  | \ engrams /   |   \ mini-grids / for thinking |  \ of words/  |
  |  \_______/    |    \__________/  in language  |   \_______/   |

