CONTACTS 
0201 - Texas Tech University                806 742 3275
020101 - Mr. Joseph M. Ransdell; Associate Professor
020102 - joseph.ransdell@ttu.edu
020103 - Department of Philosophy

SUBJECTS
Meaning Drift Occurs in Writing and Verbal Communication
Meaning Maintain Shared Over Time
Meaning Drift Causes Bumbling Murphy's Law
Meaning Build and Maintain Shared, Over Time
Meaning Derived Common Patterns of Language Experience

2407 -    ..
2408 - Summary/Objective
2409 -
240901 - Follow up ref SDS 71 0000, ref SDS 70 0000.
240902 -
240903 - Joe offers constructive ideas for strengthening the solution to
240904 - meaning drift.  Need ideas on how to implement additional control
240905 - criteria, estimate of how much time would be required to use the
240906 - additional controls and how much time and money would be saved, as a
240907 - result of using them.
240908 -
240909 -  ..
240910 - Submitted ref DIT 1 0001 linked to this record, and responding to
240911 - Joe's point on 000717, ref SDS 71 0002, that SDS aids understanding.
240912 - Cited his concern on 000717, ref SDS 71 0006, about secrecy.
240913 - ref DIT 1 7735  Mentioned need to develop educational opportunities
240914 - and studies for Com Metrics and Knowledge Management, per below.
240915 - ref SDS 0 7488  Suggest that questions Joe cited on 000716,
240916 - ref SDS 70 0001, have been answered by subsequent review. ref SDS 70
240917 - 0001
240918 -
240919 -  ..
240920 - Mentioned Mary Keeler recommends working with Joe on KM, in her letter
240921 - on 000718, yesterday. ref SDS 73 0001
240922 -
240923 - Sent a copy of the letter to Joe, to Mary to keep her posted.
240924 -
240925 -    [On 000720 received letter from Joe on orality and literacy, saying
240926 -    he is reviewing the letter sent today. ref SDS 74 0974
240927 -
240928 -
240929 -
240930 -
240931 -  ..
2410 -
2411 -
2412 - Progress
2413 -
241301 - Meaning Drift Problem is Multi-dimensional, Needs Deeper Solution
241302 -
241303 - Received ref DRT 1 0001 from Joe commenting on meaning drift,
241304 - discussed in the letter on medical mistakes, ref DIP 1 1680, from work
241305 - on 990924. ref SDS 21 5576
241306 -
241307 - Joe reports meaning drift is primarily explained by Welch as a problem
241308 - in oral communication rather than written communication (sometimes
241309 - associating the oral/written contrast with the distinction between the
241310 - pictorial or graphic, on the one hand, and the literal or alphabetic
241311 - on the other), with the one regarded as the solution to the problem
241312 - raised by the other. ref DRT 1 6162
241313 -
241314 -      Need specific language in the record that renders the problem
241315 -      primarily one of oral communication, so adjustments can be made
241316 -      to clarify the record, discussed on 000716. ref SDS 70 7047
241317 -
241318 -       ..
241319 -      The letter to Joe mentions this issue in relation to problem of
241320 -      limited time, ref DIT 1 3776, cited by by Joe in his letter on
241321 -      000716. ref SDS 70 6960
241322 -
241323 -  ..
241324 - Joe points out that meaning drift occurs in both oral and written
241325 - communication, and each can correct the other, owing to the complexity
241326 - of meaning. ref DRT 1 2916
241327 -
241328 -         [On 000720 Joe comments on meaning drift again. ref SDS 74
241329 -         2685
241330 -
241331 -         [On 000721 Joe notes that Cognitive Science does not solve
241332 -         meaning drift. ref SDS 75 7650
241333 -
241334 -      Stream of conscious communication lacks alignment with relevant
241335 -      context, i.e., history, requirements and objectives, also,
241336 -      subjects, and thereon leads to "meaning drift" that causes
241337 -      harmful action, commonly called a "mistake," as set out in the
241338 -      New World Order... ref OF 2 5138
241339 -
241340 -       ..
241341 -      On 949609 meaning drift issue is discussed in relation to
241342 -      Kissinger's point that daily management is a comedy of errors.
241343 -      ref SDS 4 4238
241344 -
241345 -
241346 -      On 960518 meaning drift identifed from review of Landauer's work
241347 -      on LSA. ref SDS 11 3734
241348 -
241349 -       ..
241350 -      On 970624 there is a humerous example of meaning drift that
241351 -      occurs in written and verbal military orders. ref SDS 13 7006
241352 -
241353 -
241354 -      On 991101 there is an example of meaning drift that impacts
241355 -      conduct. ref SDS 24 0857
241356 -
241357 -
241358 -      Telephone game is cited in the letter on medical mistakes,
241359 -      ref DIP 1 6048, with references on 990924, to further illustrate
241360 -      how meaning drift occurs in conversation. ref SDS 21 3955  The
241361 -      same source explains meaning drift occurs in writing email
241362 -      because it is a stream of conscious rendering. ref DIP 1 1045
241363 -
241364 -      ..
241365 -      New World Order... paper discusses the problem. ref OF 2
241366 -      9449
241367 -
241368 -       ..
241369 -      Need examples from Joe to illustrate "meaning drift" in verbal
241370 -      and written communications, which he describes. ref SDS 0 MU4F
241371 -
241372 -      This record indicates meaning drift is a disconnect in the human
241373 -      mind that is manifested both in writing and oral communication,
241374 -      as Joe points out, and causes conduct to conflict with
241375 -      requirements and objectives, commonly called a "mistake."
241376 -
241377 -  ..
241378 - Joe proposes a solution using a holistic reform in the sense that it
241379 - involves a number of different control factors working in a
241380 - coordinated way rather than in strengthening only one component, such
241381 - as the use of the written word. ref DRT 1 2916
241382 -
241383 -      "Intelligence" explained in POIMS, ref OF 1 0561, provides...
241384 -
241385 -           •  Organization
241386 -           •  Analysis
241387 -           •  Alignment
241388 -           •  Summary connected to detail
241389 -           •  Feedback
241390 -
241391 -      ...which, taken together, help avoid meaning drift.
241392 -
241393 -       ..
241394 -      As a result, the letter today concurs, with Joe's point that
241395 -      meaning drift occurs in both verbal and written communication.
241396 -      ref DIT 1 9135
241397 -
241398 -      Key issue in meaning drift is lack of alignment with requirements
241399 -      and objectives, which influences conduct, causing mistakes.  In
241400 -      other words, meaning drift causes the wrong action to be taken,
241401 -      and makes it is a secret, expanding on secrecy discussed by Joe
241402 -      on 000717, ref SDS 71 0006, and per scenario reported on 940611.
241403 -      ref SDS 5 8239
241404 -
241405 -          Letter to Joe focuses on this aspect of secrecy. ref DIT 1
241406 -          7735
241407 -
241408 -       ..
241409 -      The goal is to reduce mistakes by maintaining alignment.  Since
241410 -      knowledge in the human mind is fragile, as reported on 950204,
241411 -      ref SDS 6 0550, alphabet technology was invented.  With great
241412 -      effort, writing can maintain alignment over time. However, Joe is
241413 -      correct that most writing is a spontaneous, stream of conscious
241414 -      rendering equally susceptible to meaning drift.  Email is worse,
241415 -      as set out in analysis of medical mistakes, ref DIP 1 1045, from
241416 -      the record on 990924. ref SDS 21 0715  Such writing compounds the
241417 -      problem because it gives error the weight of authority, and
241418 -      permanence.
241419 -
241420 -       ..
241421 -      SDS reduces the time and energy to maintain alignment by an order
241422 -      of magnitude using specific tools and practices, cited by Joe in
241423 -      his letter on 000717. ref SDS 71 3825
241424 -
241425 -  ..
241426 - Joe's ideas on bolstering alignment to avoid meaning drift need to be
241427 - presented in relation to the objective in the letter to Mary Keeler
241428 - on 000624...
241429 -
241430 -       SDS falls within the alphabet category of an explosive
241431 -       technology that is quite simple, once understood, and requires
241432 -       very little energy, and so has the potential over time, like the
241433 -       alphabet, to make a big contribution to civilization.
241434 -       ref DIP 5 6018
241435 -
241436 -  ..
241437 - The question becomes what new controls can be created...
241438 -
241439 -       ...that [are] relatively simple, or can be made simple by
241440 -       tweaking technology a bit, so that a lot of people can do it
241441 -       regularly like breathing, and it works a lot better than what
241442 -       they are doing now.
241443 -
241444 -  ..
241445 - This is the goal of enhancing the alphabetic mind, reviewed on 991108,
241446 - ref SDS 25 5628, cited in the letter to Joe today. ref DIT 1 1500
241447 -
241448 -
241449 - How can additional controls be incorporated, and how much time would
241450 - be required to use them day in and day out, as Joe seems to propose
241451 - today? see above. ref SDS 0 9880
241452 -
241453 -  ..
241454 - Alternatively, there could a leveled tool set for application when
241455 - time permits to big problem areas.
241456 -
241457 -      When time permits, Joe might take an SDS record, like this one,
241458 -      and explain how additional controls would appear in the record,
241459 -      and estimate the additional time required to accomplish the work.
241460 -      Then estimate additional level of accuracy and other benefits
241461 -      that would result from the additional time.
241462 -
241463 -      An example of this kind of estimate is the letter prepared by the
241464 -      US Army Corps of Engineers on cost savings using SDS, dated
241465 -      971007. ref DRP 4 0001 see sepcifically analysis of evaluating
241466 -      subject control criteria. ref DRP 4 4680
241467 -
241468 -      Possibly an "intelligent" agent can be devised to expdite the
241469 -      additional tasks Joe cites as helpful, proposed by Jack Park on
241470 -      000623 for the DKR project. ref SDS 59 2915  These efforts have
241471 -      not been successful so far, because of the reasons set out in
241472 -      POIMS explaining the complexity of the problem. ref OF 1 0561
241473 -
241474 -
241475 -
241476 -
241477 -
241478 -
241479 -
2415 -

SUBJECTS
Strategies
Texas Tech University
Strategies Academic Training for Com Metrics
Educate Benefits of Empathic, User Centered Design
KM Needs Formal Academic Training

3208 -
320801 -  ..
320802 - Strategies & Tasks for Study and Teaching Communication Metrics
320803 -
320804 - Follow up ref SDS 35 0001, ref SDS 26 0001.
320805 -
320806 - Letter to Joe this evening, ref DIT 1 1500, identifies strategy and
320807 - tasks.
320808 -
320809 - Alphabet technology can be enchanced to lift civilization, per review
320810 - of Joe's letter on 000716. ref SDS 70 7216
320811 -
320812 -     [On 000724 sent follow up letter to Joe mentioning need to look at
320813 -     alphabet technology. ref SDS 76 1624
320814 -
320815 -     [On 000727 Joe called back. ref SDS 77 3477
320816 -
320817 -  ..
320818 - On 991121 wrote a letter, ref DIP 2 7544, to John Hilton. ref SDS 26
320819 - 0001  On 000301 letter to Doug Engelbart, ref DIP 3 2035, made same
320820 - point. ref SDS 35 0001
320821 -
320822 -  ..
320823 - Strategies for growing awareness and skills are in the record on
320824 - 951012 from meeting at University of Santa Clara, explaining the need
320825 - for studies to establish SDS improves ability to think, remember and
320826 - communicate. ref SDS 10 7488
320827 -
320828 -
320829 - Explain need to teach skills for new work role and discipline,
320830 - ref DIT 1 8632, per NWO... ref OF 2 4305
320831 -
320832 -     [On 000720 need for teaching new discipline to use SDS for Com
320833 -     Metrics that implements Socrates method of ceasless, controlled
320834 -     "dialogical inquiry." ref SDS 74 1457
320835 -
320836 -  ..
320837 - Curriculum for teaching Com Metrics is in the record on 950523 from
320838 - Wharton School of Business. ref SDS 9 2130
320839 -
320840 -
320841 - Cited letter to Henry van Eyken on 000317, ref DIP 4 3672, explaining
320842 - seniors are a good place to begin training people to use SDS,
320843 - ref DIT 1 0940, and to get feedback on effectiveness. ref SDS 37 0005
320844 -
320845 -  ..
320846 - Recognizes this an ambitious agenda, ref DIT 1 7546, per Joe's comment
320847 - in his letter today, ref DRT 1 3060, confirming his point on 000716.
320848 - ref SDS 70 3105
320849 -
320850 -  ..
320851 - Offer to provide SDS to Joe so he can use it for promoting
320852 - understanding and awareness of SDS, Com Metrics and KM. ref DIT 1
320853 - 5332, which aligns with Joe's comments on 000717 about wanting to
320854 - learn more about SDS. ref SDS 71 1815
320855 -
320856 -
320857 -
320858 -
320859 -
320860 -
320861 -
320862 -
320863 -
320864 -
320865 -