Gilles Fauconnier Visit
This is an outline of possible discussion topics for a visit of Prof Gilles Fauconnier to the UCSD Meaning and Computation Lab, 19 and 26 May 2004.
  1. Overview of Projects in some way related to blending, conceptual spaces, metaphor, etc.
    1. User interface design and representation (see CSE 271, CSE 171). Fox Harrell and Abbie Gray.
    2. Data integration (with schema, ontology, logic integration). Jenny Wang.
    3. New media, active media, interactive media; style. (see CSE 87C). Fox Harrell.
    4. Free jazz group improvisation, structure of music; consciousness (models of human interaction, understanding and learning). David Borgo [music].
    5. Confluence in term rewriting theory. Monica Marcus.
    6. Hierarchical, structural information theory. Schlomo Dubnov [music].
    7. Philosophy of Computation: What is information? Limitations of the Semantic Web.
  2. Examples and Issues:
    1. Examples: window & scrollbar and date & time of day as blends; as representation problems; clocks as a refinement problem.
    2. Issues: Dynamics, structure, mathematical theory, typing, quality of representation, conceptual spaces as special case.
  3. Results:
    1. Theory: semiotic spaces, semiotic morphisms, quality orderings, lax colimit (non-unique), refinement of semiotic theories; optimality criteria for blends need to be formal (commutativity, type casting).
    2. Tools: SCIA for database schema integration; blending algorithm.
  4. Blending and Arts:
    1. Active poetry, interactive poetry, using blending algorithm.
    2. Personification as type casting (e.g. the boathouse blend).
    3. Dis-optimization in Neruda and other creative poetry.
    4. Labov narrative structure as blending; syntax as blending.
    5. Domains vs. spaces.
    6. History file.
  5. Philosophy:
    1. Dynamical systems theory as critical language, based on minimum complexity with anticipation as a potential function using blending for structure. Applications to free jazz. Ryoko Goguen
    2. Generalization to consciousness; theory of qualia.
    3. Potential problems with semantic web, e.g., see Workshop on Cognitive Semantics and Ontologies, organized by Werner Kuhn, at FOIS04.
    4. What is information?
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Last modified: Wed May 19 19:29:04 PDT 2004