Categories and Labels

I find the subject of "thought" and "learning" to be fascinating, but I have no particular expertise on the topic. One of the things that fascinates me about thought is that we are not necessarily aware of our own complicated thought processes. I wonder, for instance, to what extent language influences our thought processes. When someone is raised without a spoken or written language, does some sort of internal "language" just develop spontaneously in their own brain?

Keeping in mind that I claim no particular expertise on the subject of thought, I would guess that one of the most basic aspects of thought and learning is placing things into categories, comparing one thing with another thing. For example, each new object a creature encounters is evaluated for whether or not it presents an immediate threat or danger. Another example is the way babies amuse us by their frequent difficulty distinguishing "food" from "non-food".

Every day of our lives, we encounter objects or situations that we have never encountered before -- at least not the IDENTICAL object or situation. One of the ways that we cope with this potentially-overwhelming onslaught of new information is by recognizing the similarities between different things, and unconsciously assigning categories and labels. If I am walking along a sidewalk and encounter a garden hose, it does not particularly matter to me whether I have ever seen that identical garden hose before. I have encountered garden hoses before, and I immediately label it a "garden hose" and place it in the same mental category as other garden hoses. Unless it is being brandished in a menacing manner, I do not view it as a threat. Though it bears certain similarities to a snake, I do NOT place it in the same category as "snakes". I MAY place it in a similar category to the child's toy I encounter nearby ("stuff someone left out in their yard"), even though it bears little physical resemblance to the toy.

I can place the garden hose in an infinite number of potential categories, such as "hoses", "things I might trip over", "yard care implements", "sources of water", "round", "hardware store items" ... the number of potential categories truly is infinite. A crucial, oft-overlooked point is that the categories are something I am imposing on the garden hose, consciously or unconsciously. They are not attributes of the garden hose, though a garden hose can be categorized based on its attributes. I may place the garden hose in the category "made of rubber" when in fact it is made of plastic, and this error on my part may or may not be significant, but it has no effect on the make-up of the garden hose.

The categories that we use depend on a complicated blend of ourselves -- our own backgrounds and priorities, among other things -- and the particular situation. If we are looking for something to rescue someone fallen down a well, then rope, cable, and hose may all fall in the same category. "Things to siphon gasoline" is a completely different category, but overlaps on "hose".

It is one thing to categorize inanimate objects. Categorizing activities, relationships, or animate objects grows much more complicated. Among the additional difficulties is that these things may be constantly changing. The relationship between two people, for example, varies from moment to moment, and is constantly evolving. It may be accurate enough to state that people are "friends" or "spouses", but if we try to apply more specific categories, we may be in for trouble.

This brings up the separate but related issue of definitions and terminology. There are well-known issues with the terms "fruit" versus "vegetable". Many things that are scientifically considered "fruits" are often categorized as "vegetables". If I agree to bring a "fruit salad" to a picnic, and I show up with a blend of tomato, squash, and cucumber, I may cause concern among those expecting apples, oranges, and bananas. In this case, I would be scientifically correct, but probably out of the mainstream.

"Mainstream" categories probably never precisely match our personal categories, just as our personal definitions of words do not precisely match dictionary definitions. This can cause conflicts when our categories differ in crucial ways from those around us. The person who asked me to bring a "fruit salad" to the picnic may be very disappointed with my choice of fruits.

Categories and labels are necessary and helpful while also being dangerous and obstructive. Once we label something, we are mentally assigning attributes to this thing that it may not possess, while potentially overlooking or denying attributes that it DOES possess. Even if we categorize it correctly, and assign only the correct attributes, by the very act of placing it in a certain category, we are shaping how we will view that thing.

In this "digital" era, we try to reduce infinite variation into finite variation. There are virtually infinite variations of what humans perceive as "color." To "digitize" color, we represent each color by a different number. The more numbers we use, the more variations of color we can represent. For some purposes, it is enough to have eight or nine colors. Blue is blue, red is red. Real life, though, suffers no such restrictions on the number of observable colors.

In effect, we now try to "digitize" everything. Uncomfortable with infinite variation, we seek a limited number of alternatives. We place things in arbitrarily-defined categories based on our own previous experiences, and then grow agitated if they do not seem to precisely "fit" these categories. Many a musician has fallen out of favor for performing music outside of their "category." A "country" musician can be criticized for not being "country" enough. Several famous musicians are credited with making the observation, "There are only two kinds of music, good music and bad music." Music, and so much of our universe, defies being confined into precise categories.

Categories and labels are strictly ways of looking at things. There is no "best" way to look at something, though certain ways may be most effective or appropriate for certain situations. While there is no "right" category or label, they can be "wrong", though sometimes, as in the case of fruits and vegetables, even "right" and "wrong" depend on the specifics of the situation.

Truth is complicated.