[FRIAM] excess meaning alert? (was, Re: are we how we behave?)

[Steven A Smith]

Lee -
> Steve writes in relevant part:
>
>> My position is that I favor each and every one of us taking whatever
>> responsibility for understanding our own "convex hull" of
>> capability/knowledge/intuition as we are capable of and "managing" it to
>> the best of our ability.
> The quotation marks around the phrase 'convex hull' and the word
> 'managing' presumably signal that they are being used non-literally, and
> (I guess) metaphorically.

Thanks for asking (I think).

I was responding to Roger's use of the term which I took to mean
specifically the geometric "surface" known as a /Pareto Frontier
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_efficiency#Pareto_frontier>///which
is essentially a (hyper)surface (line in 2D) which describes
(geometrically a containing space of) the collection of optimal
solutions in a high-dimensional trade space.   It *is* equivalent to the
/Convex Hull /
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convex_hull#Convex_hull_of_a_finite_point_set>problem
in geometry, but carries an implication for multi-objective optimization.
>   I would particularly like Steve, if he is
> willing, to delve into the intended metaphor in the first case.  On the
> one hand, lots of my work uses more or less geometry; on the other, in
> lots of my other work I use metaphor; and I even think and write about
> metaphor.  So it's likely that I'm taking the metaphor more seriously than
> intended.

I do believe that studying the Wikipedia articles linked above will lead
to a detailed explication of what I was referring to.  

I will also accept responsibility for my irresponsible use of ' " '
marks.   For me, it is often a shorthand for indicating that the term
within the quotes is a "reserved term" (/Reserved Term/) from some
/Specialized Lexicon/ which I trust the reader is either familiar with
or (with my hint) recognizes as being a term with specific, intentional
and likely obscure (to the casual reader) but non-trivial meaning.   In
other words, I'm trying to indicate that it is a very specifically
/Loaded Word/ (or phrase).

> With that disclaimer: in the technical contexts I'm familiar with, to pass
> from something X to the convex hull of X has the effect of (1) 'filling in
> holes in X', in a well-defined manner that is (2) as economical as
> possible and (3) (therefore) unique. Which (if any) of those properties
> are reflected, and how, in the case that X is our
> "capability/knowledge/intuition"?  ... I could ramble on a lot more but
> will start with that.

And I believe this does align with /Convex Hull/ as used above... the
specific relevance to multi-objective optimization would require
reference to /Pareto Frontier"/or /Pareto Surface /which (as Wikipedia
elaborates well) originated in economic theory but is relevant to any
multi-objective optimization problem.

It could be noted that I had to go back and edit out yet more egregious
uses of ' " ' in this text, using /Capitalized Italics/ in it's place. 
I don't know if that is ideal, but generally that would be my preferred
typographical indication of a /Reserved Term/ from a /Specialized
Lexicon/.  I will try to be more consistent in the future, and am open
to being schooled on a more proper typographical (within the realm of
text consisting of the basic roman alphabet and italics/bold formatting)
indication.

Orthogonal to my orthographic transgressions, I admit also to playing
fast and loose WITH metaphor, sometimes being whimsical about it, other
times using it in a very intentional and specific way as rigid (in some
cases) as a (complex) formal analogy.  

I would claim (following Lakoff and Nunez in _Where Mathematics Comes
From_ ) that all metaphors ultimately ground in human sensations
provided by our embodiment.  I also work on the operational assumption
the our primary mode of understanding is via (conceptual) metaphor
(Lakoff & Johnson _Metaphors we Live by_)...  metaphor stacked on top of
metaphor which is grounded in our embodied sensuality.  Near the bottom
of that stack we often find metaphorical /Source Domains/ (or our /Image
Donor/) from geometry. 

In closing, to try to tie these two points together, my /Reserved
Terms/, formerly (sloppily) indicated by "scare quotes" (/Scare
Quotes/?) may be from a /Specialized Lexicon/ derived from a specific
(common or obscure) /Metaphorical Source Domain.  
/

I believe that it is *more common* in /Internet Culture/ to reserve
/Scare Quotes/ for sarcasm or derision, but I may not have that quite right?

- Steve

PS.  I am given to bracketing words I intend to be read as *emboldened*
with '*'s which seem to often be rendered exactly that way.  I use
preceding/following '_'  underscore marks to indicate _Underlined Text_
which does NOT seem to be rendered that way often.   And I am erratic in
my use of *bold* and CAPS for simple emphasis.  Also open to some
improved/alternative conventions and promise to *TRY* to be more consistent.


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