Ambiguous

I found that the section that we were assigned to read by Hofstadter was a little confusing at some points, but this was only due to the nature of his writing style. Like a normal conversation Hofstadter jumps from point to point and also goes on a miniature rant about conceptual spheres. Where people take a primary concept and they then take this concept and spread it to a conceptual space that is shared by many other individuals. I thought this was a very interesting topic that Hofstadter points out, and he only makes that even better when he expands his idea into the realm of grammar and logic.

Hofstadter talks about generalizations and how they spread outwards from a conceptual centerpiece. When we read or hear something we tend to take this and apply it and relate it in some way or form to things that have happened in our own lives. I find this interesting and he example of the “Me-Too” phenomenon and his examples. The one example that I really enjoyed was when he stated an exchange of words between people named Shelley and Tim:

Shelley: I’m going to pay for my beer now.

Tim: Me, Too.

Tim’s reply in itself is ambiguous. There could be many interpretations that could steer someone off course and they might get the wrong impression. The great part about something like this is that we as humans use phrases like this everyday and do not think anything of it. We have taken our language and have used it to a new degree, where we can say things such as ambiguous statements and people can draw correct inferences from them and we can be on our merry way.

This also made me think about how this could make for a tough time in Artificial Intelligence programming. Human languages are so complex and have so many different phrases, uses, and tricks that it would be very difficult for a machine to pick up on some of these. I feel as though a phrase such as “get a hold of yourself”, or “get a grip” would cause a machine to sort of problems. It also made me think of Kim Peek and how he, one of the most unique and gifted individuals in the world, cannot understand the use of the phrases such as “get a hold of yourself.”