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Conceptual structures as damped harmonic oscillators

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Abstract

This paper serves to examine certain hypotheses about the effect of information on cognitive processing generated by the Galileo model. This model proposes that objects of cognition are points within a multidimensional continuum, the definition of any object being its structural relation to all other objects in the continuum, and any change in structure can be modeled by Newtonian mechanics. This paper tests the hypothesis that new information will induce motion described by the equation for a damped harmonic oscillator, and that regions of the continuum where information is not directed will display motion as described by DeBroglie's equation. Results tentatively support the hypotheses, and the relation of this conceptualization with compatible models of physical reality is discussed.

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Foldy, J., Woelfel, J. Conceptual structures as damped harmonic oscillators. Qual Quant 24, 1–16 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00221381

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