GLOBAL
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PROJECT

Integrating our understanding of the world to support wise decisions about the future

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What is the Conceptionary?

Why are concepts important ? (Why you should care)

'Concepts' are integrations of complex sets of information. When objects, processes, and ideas are linked in a concept, that concept allows us to 'chunk' or handle information differently. Concepts give us both a linguistic shorthand for that complex set of information, and a mental 'handle' that is more easily graspable than a paragraph full of words.

Concepts can be thought of as mental tools, or cognitive infrastructure. Mental tools refers to the ability of concepts to manipulate and handle information; 'cognitive infrastructure' refers to how concepts act as foundations for other concepts and mental constructs.

Need to upgrade our concepts – levers for thinking

-of the Global Dialog Project

lower the energy barriers :

What we are talking about is creating -

Making it easier to create than to destroy

-of systems -from biological systems; biological metaphors

  • catalyst
  • activation energy
  • circuits
  • reward system
  • network
  • hierarchy
  • holoarchy
  • heterarchy
  • recruitment
  • niche
  • generalist/specialist
  • integration/convergence