Re: Why do we need definitions?

From: Markus Triska (triska_at_gmx.at)
Date: 06/21/04 

Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 23:02:51 +0000

>
> No, we need definitions in order to all of us understand what are we
> talking about. For example, suppose I say "I took my wambalgour for a
> walk" What am I talking about? Now, say I define wambalgour as a small
> white cat, then the sentence means "I took my small white cat for a
> walk".

This leads to nothing, because "my small white cat" might mean exactly
nothing to me, or something completely different that it does to you. I
might be afraid whenever I think of cats (well, I'm not), or think about
red when you say white or anything else, depending on my experience.

Do not believe that there is a "per se" meaning in any word. When I say
something, you associate your memories to the sound of the words, and
what you see are the pictures in your mind. It's totally subjective.

> We can compress as much information as needed in a definition, in
> fact, if you take advanced maths, you may see that simple words like
> "Compact Space" or "Torus" relate to many other terms which, in fact,
> have long definitions, and so on, until you arrive to the "primal"
> terms (which are terms that are left mathematically undefined)

What would such a "primal" term be then? A definition in mathematics is
an abbreviation for something else, but when giving a definition, the
writer MUST assume that the reader understands most of what she (the
writer) is talking about.

Best regards,
Markus.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Why do we need definitions?
    ... say I define wambalgour as a small ... white cat, then the sentence means "I took my small white cat for a ... > How much information can we compress in a definition? ... If there is no equivalence, ...
    (sci.cognitive)
  • Re: Why do we need definitions?
    ... >> Is it because our mental capacities are limited? ... say I define wambalgour as a small ... > white cat, then the sentence means "I took my small white cat for a ... both of which are in equivalence, ...
    (sci.cognitive)