🚀 go-pugleaf

	TAXONOMY AND HIERARCHICAL SYSTEMS
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	What's a Fundamental Principle ?
	----------------------------


I throw a bunch of objects on a table and ask the subject  to
classify/categorize them according to how he/she sees them to
be related. Subject X does it one way, Y another way, etc.


I examine them:

X. Objects are collected according to shape. Spherical objects
are in one pile, cubical in another pile, cylindrical types
in another pile, etc etc. There maybe subdivisions..

 
Y. Objects are divided up into sets according to size. Large ones
in one corner, smaller ones in another, smallest in.......
There may be subdivisions..

W. Objects are divided up into sets according to color. White, black,
red, blue etc. There might be further subdivisions using one
of the other criteria.


Z. Objects are divided up into clasess according to the type of
material; metal, plastic, wood. There may be subdivisions..


Which one of these specifications captures the concept of
relatedness (which was the original questions)  better than the
others ?  You are required to give a number (say from 0 to
100) each subject depending on the structure that the subject
can impose on the objects. There may be several answers from
each subject.

How do we give a consistent rating to the subjects based
on their performance.

More to follow in  a few days. I have other things to do.

Moral of the Story: What is more fundamental when we are 
trying to impose a hierarchical structure on objects--say just for
fun that these objects are languages :-)...



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Humanity sometimes does things wrong for years, decades, centuries
and even millenia....
		Anonymous
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-- 

	mark	

   hubey@amiga.montclair.edu         hubey@apollo.montclair.edu
   hubey@pilot.njin.net               ...!rutgers!pilot!hubey