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information management
Understanding
computes:
cognitive science
and learning
kai peters and mario weiss
CEO: ASHRIDGE BUSINESS SCHOOL AND MD: GAIA AG
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful
tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean
so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master –
that’s all.” – Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
ABSTRACT: Sorting and organising information has
always been a challenge. Classification systems
ranging from Linnaeus and Darwin through to the
Library of Congress use structured hierarchies.
Continuing on from work done in the 1950s in
cognitive sciences, new information management
systems have led to approaches like that used by
Google. Pushing this further is also possible.
Semantic webs are coming out of the laboratories
and are being used in innovative e-learning
applications with real results.
O
n September 11, 1956, the second day of a symposium, organised
by the Special Interest Group in Information Technology, took
place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), at
which a variety of papers were presented. The morning began with Alan
Newell and Herb Simon presenting their work on the logic machine.
As George A Miller, one of the attendees, recounts:
“The second paper was from IBM, where Nat Rochester and
collaborators had used the largest computer then available (an IBM 704
with
a
2
048-word
core
memory)
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to
test
Donald
Hebb’s
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neuropsychological theory of cell assemblies. Victor
structuring which is not linear, and therefore overcomes
Yngve then gave a talk on the statistical analysis of gaps,
these frustrations.
and its relation to syntax.
In this piece, we provide an overview of how
“Noam Chomsky’s contribution used information
theory
as
a
foil
for
a
public
exposition
information has traditionally been structured and how
of
new approaches are being developed which get away from
transformational generative grammar. Elias commented
hierarchical representation.
that other linguists had told him that language has all
We also provide some examples of recently
the precision of mathematics, but Chomsky was the first
completed
linguist to back up the claim... GC Szikali described
conceptual schema about a domain” which form the
some experiments on the speed of perceptual
basis for revolutionary semantic webs which open new
ontologies,
“exhaustive
and
rigorous
recognition, [Miller] talked about how we avoid
It is possible to develop an
alternative approach to information
structuring which is not linear
bottlenecks created by our limited short-term memory,
and Swets and Birdsall explained the significance of
signal-detection theory for perceptual recognition.”
(Miller, 2003)
For the first time, a symposium had been held that
drew together a broad range of people interested in
opportunities for mass customisation in learning and
areas of study covering psychology, philosophy,
communication.
linguistics, anthropology, neuroscience and computer
A SHORT HISTORY OF ORGANISATION. In order to make sense of
science. Each, in their own fields, had come to realise
the world, we sort and relate information. Jorge Luis
that were they to limit themselves to their own
Borges (1999) has poked fun at this need by citing a
disciplines, they would miss something very exciting. By
“certain Chinese encyclopaedia” according to which
drawing together these various disciplines, they defined
“animals are divided into: (a) those that belong to the
a new area of cognitive processes, which over time came
Emperor; (b) embalmed ones; (c) those that are trained;
to be known as cognitive science.
(d) suckling pigs; (e) mermaids; (f) fabulous ones; (g)
Miller (2003) concludes his reminiscence by stating
stray dogs; (h) those that are included in this
that “a unified science that would discover the
classification; (i) those that tremble as if they were mad;
representational and computational capacities of the
(j) innumerable ones; (k) those drawn with a very fine
human mind, and their structural and functional
camel’s hair brush; (l) et cetera; (m) those that have just
realisation in the human brain still has an appeal that
broken the flower vase; and (n) those that at a distance
[he] cannot resist”.
resemble flies.”
In order to understand the world, we sort, structure
All manner of systems have been created through the
and classify information. We create categories with levels,
ages. Linnaeus classified plants and animals in the mid-
descriptions and groups. We create filing systems and
18th century. Darwin, in the 19th century, went further
hierarchies in order to learn, retain and process
and, in addition to creating taxonomies, thought about
information, and we get frustrated when things do not fit
links between different groups. Each era developed
into neatly defined categories or can be represented in a
classification systems appropriate to its time.
Perhaps the best-known classification system is the
neat order which simplifies things.
Fortunately, some of us have reflected hard on the
system of categories that libraries use to catalogue all of
work done in cognitive sciences, and have realised that
their books. (Sharky, 2005) Various systems have existed
new ways are possible. By applying the work conducted
and some have superseded each other. Well-known
over the years in the cognitive sciences, it is possible to
systems include the Dewey Decimal System, whereby
develop
numeric categories define domains. The 200 series refers
an
alternative
approach
to
information
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to religions, for example. The more complex Library of
knowledge is also tremendously challenging. If one
Congress system uses letters and numbers to classify
searches for “leadership” and “Africa”, one gets over 39
books. D is the category for History (general), DA is the
million hits, and not all of them are worth pursuing.
history of Great Britain, DA 813-814.5 is the history of the
A second major challenge arises through the problem
Jacobite Movements in Scotland between 1707 and 1745.
of nomenclature. For many areas, there are a whole range
And so on.
of words which mean the same thing, but are different.
This same fundamental approach to order is used in
Authors are not all that reliable.
the Internet. When Yahoo was launched in the mid-
Lastly, there is no intelligence in how the Worldwide
1990s, it started with a number of high-level categories.
Web is interlinked. For example, a price list of products,
As the Worldwide Web grew, categories expanded, sub-
their product number, their price, the colour and a
description can be co-located on an HTML screen, but the
If one searches for “leadership” and
“Africa”, one gets over 39 million hits –
and not all of them are worth pursuing
concepts are not necessarily tabulated in a database
form, nor are databases from a variety of vendors
necessarily based on similar field structures, lengths or
naming conventions.
To try and tackle some of these issues, Berners-Lee
categories were introduced, which in turn spawned
and others interested in ontologies and semantic webs
more sub-categories until someone ultimately decided
have been developing systematic ways of supporting the
that something else was needed and the symbol “@”
definitions of the tags that are used as the basis of links.
was introduced, which meant that there were also
In practice, this means that through a range of tools
related categories and sub-categories, but they did not
and rules-based approaches, products and methodologies
really fit all that well.
like XML, XML Schema, RDF, RDF Schema and OWL, the
As an example, where would you file a book on tourist
Web Ontology Languages are being used to clarify tags,
sites and haggis recipes of the Jacobite movement in
create links, and build libraries of encoded ontologies
Scotland from 1707-1715? Should that be in the travel
which can be stored and reused. Many are open-source.
section, or the food sections or the history section or in all
Entities are described in terms of properties and classes,
of them?
and their relations. Descriptions need not be all-
The first breakthrough for the information labyrinth
encompassing.
on the Internet came from Tim Berners-Lee when he
Choice is allowed as the purpose of the ontology and
concluded that the Internet did not require a physical
the subsequent semantic www can differ. Hierarchical
location system, but could manage on the basis of a virtual
representation is possible, but is not needed: it really
system where the links between data entities could
depends on what one wants to do with these structures.
ultimately take the place of categorisation altogether. And
In the academic realm, Mark Musen and his
then Google really made it work. With Google, there is no
colleagues at the Knowledge Systems AI Lab at Stanford
shelf, there is no file system and there is no need to predict
have been developing ontology-based product catalogue
upfront. The search forms the basis for the result, not the
systems and information brokering functions. George
other way around. One does not have to think to use
Miller remains extensively involved in cognitive sciences,
Google – one simply types in a search term.
nearly 50 years after the 1956 breakthrough at MIT. He
But even with Google, there are limits. Searching for
heads Princeton’s Cognitive Science Laboratory where
single entities, or combinations of single entities, is
WordNet, their key project, is “an online lexical reference
straightforward. Coming to terms with a broad corpus of
system
knowledge is actually quite difficult. And finding
psycholinguistic theories of human lexical memory.
information of the right quality and of the right level of
English nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are
whose
design
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is
inspired
by
current
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organised into synonym sets, each representing an
Stanford and Princeton are being used to create
underlying lexical concept. Different relations link the
pragmatic programmes with real returns on investment
synonym sets.” (WordNet 2005)
by organisations like GAIA.
At GAIA, these concepts have been applied in a very
Over time, it will be possible to link these various
practical way. Since one can create ontologies of concepts
healthcare ontologies should it be appropriate. True
and their relations, one can represent them in a variety of
advantages exist where there is a tangential, but critical,
ways. For the past few years, learning webs have been
relationship, as in cases where the “knowledge bridges”
built in the healthcare field.
really contribute something.
Basically, the ontological structures support/generate
Think for example, about the question of “leadership”
smart e-learning initiatives. Rather than having linear
and “Africa”. Knowledge from a whole variety of domains
learning engagements or creating hierarchy-/file-based
By tagging data in a structured way
rather than by structurally ordering data,
we find exciting new opportunities
interfaces, developments in cognitive sciences inform the
creation of learning interfaces where links, relationships
and information bridges predominate.
This leads to the generation of interfaces where the
response to questions of preferred learning styles,
knowledge levels, job functions and language needs
is relevant. These could, for example, include knowledge
determine the order, style and flow of the learning
about local traditions, but also about Hegelian thought in
engagement. One is not faced with being forced to go
the beginning of the 19th century. Linking these in a
through screens that are known, or are presented in a
meaningful, appropriate way becomes possible through
way which does not maximise the learning experience.
ontology-based semantic webs.
Instead, once a number of basic preferences have been
Fifty years after the first steps towards an integrative
determined, and a number of gauging questions have
body of thought and knowledge about the need for related
been posed, the ontological knowledge engine underlying
education,
the screen interface generates a learning flow which is
psychology and anthropology, technology has developed
individualised.
to a point where it is no longer necessary to classify or
linguistics,
neurosciences,
philosophy,
structure knowledge in physical libraries or in structured,
One of the earliest products was built to tackle back
hierarchical file systems.
injuries at Airbus. The concept was to create a smart
system which explained causes of back injuries, improving
By tagging data in a structured way, rather than by
lifting techniques and back strengthening to employees.
structurally ordering data, we are on the brink of exciting
Within the first year of the www-based programme’s
new opportunities in areas ranging from commerce
launch, Airbus reduced missed days substantially within a
through to web-based semantic back-pain relief.
9/11 really was a momentous day!
workforce of 10 000 employees. In subsequent years,
further excellent results have also been achieved.
Later iniatives include a learning system for the
References:
Borges, JL (1999). “John Wilkins’ Analytical Language” in Selected Non-fictions (Eliot
European Society of Cardiology, which defines learningneeds
depending
on
medical
experience,
Weinberger, ed) New York, Viking.
work
Gruber, T (2005). What is an Ontology? http://www-ksl.stanford.edu/kst/what-is-an-
environment and educational needs. Recent projects
ontology.html
have left the medical field and are used to induce and to
Miller, GA (2003). “The Cognitive Revolution: A Historical Perspective”. Trends in
manage change by providing individually relevant
Cognitive Sciences, Vol 7 (3), March.
Shirky, C (2005). Ontology is Over-rated: Categories, Links and Tags.
information.
www.shirky.com/writing/ontology_overrated.html
THE PRACTICE OF ONTOLOGY. Cognitive sciences have left the
Wiki (2005). Semantic Web http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_Web
laboratories. The tools and concepts developed at
WordNet (2005). About WordNet http://wordnet.princeton.edu
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