Learning Histories LO4513

Michael McMaster (Michael@kbddean.demon.co.uk)
Sat, 30 Dec 1995 18:16:34 +0000

Replying to LO4450 --

KC provides a great question and an opportunity to respond to John
Warfield's put-down of those of us using hypertext. (At least I
think it was a put-down, in wonderful Warfield style.) I think that
hypertext will help to address the problem raised of both

> a) improving the value of the information in the history
> b) reducing the work of accessing it

> The difficulty with improving the value of the information in the history
> is that it requires people with a history to use as a basis for "guessing"
> what information will be useful in the future.

We can't know this beforehand. An answer is to "store it all" - but
that probably can't be done and will create new problems to offset
any potential gains. Like the access work will skyrocket. Another
answer is to "chunk" the experience into "building blocks" (to borrow
a term from John Holland) and save those as potential hypotheses,
rules, etc. The challenge here is like the existential one of choice
- you must make them knowing they will not be complete, infallible,
etc.

Another is to employ hypertext approaches so that "templates" are
created which integrate information/knowledge in various ways
according to various purposes, intentions and individual
peculiarities but which do not require keeping volumes of specific
bits of information. The templates are saved and then find knowledge
by author (say with thinking and/or reputations that you like) or by
problem applications, or by theoretical bias or ????? This gives
access to previous knowledge and wisdom - integrated information -
and not just data and information.

> So I guess we'd better work on capturing "everything" (or at least what
> ever is economically viable to capture) and improving techniques of
> access, such that they are minimally "work" intensive.

Hypertext, after a bit of learning - it took me one full day to get
somewhat competent - provides at least one means of "minimally work
intensive" access to a great deal of thinking with rapid use of
"screens".

--
Michael McMaster
Michael@kbddean.demon.co.uk