Mental models and the 7Es LO29438

From: Terje A. Tonsberg (tatonsberg@hotmail.com)
Date: 11/02/02


Replying to LO29398 --

At said:

> Terje Tonsberg < tatonsberg@hotmail.com > writes.....
> >Liveness: One severe problem with mental models is that
> >they impose a dead structure on a live organism subject to
> >continuous internal and external changes to explain behavior.
> >It is a little like studying a corpse to understand the behavior
> >of a live person. You are not studying the thing itself.
...snip...

> Why do Mental Models (MMs) have such a curious effect on human
> behaviour (change)? The entropy production in a MM is very little,
> if any. .... MMs have little liveness and avoid
> more liveness like the pest.

Greetings At,

I believe this is a reasonable description, but what I was referring to in
http://www.learning-org.com/02.10/0151.html was using the concept of MMs
to explain behavior. After another look at my mail, I guess I could have
made that clearer.

A severe problem with using inferred MMs to explain behavior is that
inference forces you to make assumptions that cannot be verified by
observation. This is paradoxical, because the study of MMs is supposed to
help one get rid of undue assumptions. It is better to stick to observing
and manipulating observables. This is more true to sureness.

Terje

-- 

"Terje A. Tonsberg" <tatonsberg@hotmail.com>

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