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In article <1992Nov20.111124.17630@husc3.harvard.edu> 
zeleny@husc10.harvard.edu (Michael Zeleny) writes:

] I see no reason to suppose that the salient contextual features are
] unique and irreproducible, in the sense you seem to suggest.

Therein lies the problem.  :-)

The previous poster was arguing (rightly, I would add) that for
any phenomenon, there are not simply n features.  Each observer
perceives a phenomenon from a different point in space and time and 
that this could (and almost certainly would) change the number of 
possible contextual features.  But even if that weren't true, there are 
still problems with your model.

Let us assume that only n features exist for a phenomenon.  For each 
individual that experiences this phenomenon let us assume that there 
are only q salient features (we can even number them:  Q(1)...Q(q)).  
Do you truly suppose that for everyone q is equal?  

Let us carry this one step further:

Let us imagine two individuals:  MZ and SB.  Both experience a
phenomenon with only n features.  For MZ there are q salient features
and for SB there are (through some incomprehensible coincidence)
also exactly q salient features.  Do you imagine that the sets of
these salient features [MZ:{Q(1)...Q(q)} and SB:{Q(1)...Q(q)}] are
identical?  I doubt one can show that they even intersect.

-- 
Steven D. Brewer    brewer@cs.wmich.edu     *     99brewer@lab.cc.wmich.edu
                Department of Science Studies,  Western Michigan University
"Kiu regalas per ^stonoj, tiun oni dankas per bastonoj." D-ro L.L. Zamenhof